Are we as unique as we think we are?
Since coming back to my apartment, I’ve begun to reflect on some of the experiences from this past week of Marseille. Specifically, I’ve thought about what it will take to affect change at my home institution of Georgetown Medical School.
My mind keeps wandering back to a conversation I had with Michelle on Thursday night. We were both rehashing our outcomes from the X Y business negotiation game. I thought that I had a very clever strategy for success. Even though it ultimately failed, I thought that it was sound in concept. My approach was to feign misunderstanding about the rules for the first few rounds and throw the X card 4 times. Then I would act as if I finally grasped the rules and encourage everyone that it is for everyone’s benefit to throw only the Y card. I assumed everyone would see the benefit to this and then… Continue reading
Second Day at Marseille East
The past two days have been filled with some educational moments that have helped me gain personal insight into patient quality and safety. I’m hoping these experiences will serve as tools to make me a better physician in the future. I’d like to reflect on a few of those moments.
We began yesterday with a film about Lewis Blackman, a 15 year old patient who died as a result of a series of post-surgical medical errors. This film told the story from the perspective of Lewis’s mother, Helen, who stayed with her son all throughout his fumbled medical care in the hospital and tried desperately to save him from a system that was failing him.
One of the most powerful quotes in the movie was made by Helen, who said (and I’m paraphrasing), “Had my son been anywhere but the hospital, he would be alive today.”
The film put… Continue reading
My first day at Marseille East
Today was the first full day of the Marseille Eastern Conference. For me it was an inspiring and intensely thought-provoking day.
The day began with introductions. It became quickly apparent that I was probably one of the least credentialed students at the conference. The conference is made up of are PhD candidates, human factors engineers, ER nurses, MD students with master’s in public policy, former peace corps workers, and other equally impressive people who have all established themselves as leaders in their specific field. Additionally, the faculty members leading the conference are the foremost leaders in patient quality and safety in the country. They come from all different walks of life, from business to nursing to an actual family whose child was killed by a medical error, each offering a different perspective on how to improve patient quality and safety.
I could think of no better group of people to… Continue reading