There has been an overwhelming response from many residents is my program that there is no avenue for discussion about the difficulties of our profession. These difficulties include not only hours, sleep deprivation, hierarchical pressures, but more importantly loss of patient life, mistakes that might hurt others. The response from many in administration has been that residents have had to deal with these issues for many years and they have to figure it out. Residents have been told again and again “it has always been this way.” I have accepted this mantra and have done my best on my own to deal with these stressors in as best a way I know possible. Many residents have expressed that dealing with it alone doesn’t work. Seeing a program like caring for the caregiver seems so blatantly obvious to its benefits that it floors me that it’s not common hospital practice. I… Continue reading →

The more discussion I have been having with all of you made me unfortunately realize how much room our hospital has to grow. We truly do not have a just culture or a culture of transparency. So many aspects of things that are expected to be in place, simply aren’t. At first I considered this a major disadvantage, but I now see this as a incredible opportunity. With so much need for change, I believe my co-chief and I have can truly make a change in our facility. I also believe these changes can be made quickly.

I know that the change in culture at our hospital will be a long and arduous process. It it has to start somewhere, and I believe it can start with me as a resident. I was unsure what to expect from this week but am excited to have a vision of change that… Continue reading →

Surrounded by such an incredible group of talented physicians and infectious personalities as well as picturesque mountains (I mean Coors knew what they were doing), I found myself somber reflecting on what could have been. We heard a heartbreaking story of Lewis Blackman through the scope of his mother who had the courage and strength to be there with us for it and has for so many others in the spirit of learning. He lost his life in the one place he couldn’t get help, the hospital. That was so striking to me and overwhelmingly depressing. But this week is about taking those emotions and using them as fuel to better our facilities and better yet our mindset in order to create better outcomes and avoid if not just one death of a 15 year old boy with his life ahead of him. Lewis would have been around most of… Continue reading →