Today was exhausting in the best way possible. I am amazed by the caliber of the faculty in this program and how the presenters are able to provoke so much thought out of us participants. My desire to process all that happened today led me into a series of wonderful discussions with my peers that lasted well into the night. I think it was really incredible to have both Carole Hemmelgarn’s story about her family’s experience with failure in health care and John Nance’s talk about how to improve the system on the same day. I don’t know how else to describe my feelings about Carole’s story other than to say that I am shocked and forever changed by it. Because I was fortunate enough to experience Carole’s strength and compassion, I feel morally obligated to do what I can to improve the system. John’s talk, which provided real solutions… Continue reading →

After one day of meeting, the Marseille Experience already has me considering patient safety and quality improvement in new ways. I’ve always struggled with educational programs that tell the class that they all need to be “leaders”. If everyone has to be the one in charge then how can there also be collaborative teamwork? For this reason, I really enjoyed this morning’s “Safety Moment”, a video clip which discussed the importance of the “First Follower”, the first person to go along with a leader’s new idea. The first follower – which could represent the “early adopters” in change management – is crucial to bringing a bright idea into practice. I appreciated how this video called attention to the value in recognizing a great idea by a peer, going out of your way to support the idea, and being willing to accept change because it is for the good. In… Continue reading →