Write it down, read it back
One technique that striked me as a great idea was the check-back method. This involves listening to another medical professional tell you about the patient, preferably in the SBAR format, you jot down the important notes, and then you read the notes back to the dictator.
Previously I had known about teach-back method which involves the patient repeating and paraphrasing the information that you given them. However, I never really thought about writing the information down. The written aspect is so powerful because it helps you to remember better, and it’s a form of traceable documentation.
One anecdote that I thought was very powerful was the one in which the doctor asks the patient, may I record this conversation? The patient agrees, thinking that the doctor wants to make a record to cover his tracks legally. At the end of the meeting however, the doctor takes out the tape from… Continue reading
New Ideas
One great aspect of the roundtable is that it brings together students from around the country and many different medical schools. I picked up some great ideas today that I think can be implemented at UC.
–As a clinical skills activity, we can practice how to disclose a medical mistake to the patient, reporting death of the patient to family members. In addition, simulations done with nursing students would be really helpful for developing interprofessional collaboration
–Stop the line phrase: “I need clarification” can be used more in the clinical setting
–Mental health and emotional intelligence training should be more emphasized
–Medications should sometimes also have informed consent from the patient
Some of these changes can be made in the curricula, especially in the clinical skills class and Physician&Society in which we should emphasize more patient safety issues.
Fight the fight
A soldier cannot run from battle because there are guns trained on his back in both directions.
This is not so in other occupations. As medical students and professionals, we constantly have to choose how to react to new information and whether to take action or to sit on the sidelines. Soldiers don’t have the luxury of these options. So in a way, because we must make difficult choices, we also need to muster more courage to perform in the battlefield.
Patient safety improvement takes a lot of guts. It means challenging the status quo, confronting established traditions, risking your job or grades, and most of all, dealing with recalcitrant people….who may be your seniors.
Today I was confronted about my experience shadowing a preceptor who does not wash his hands before he sees patients. I have commented on this directly to the physician by saying, “I notice that you… Continue reading