This quote from Joe Maddon really stood out to me and really set the tone for Day 2 in my mind.  I feel that everything that we’ve discussed so far at this conference is stuff every medical student, resident, and attending knows in the back of their mind, just like how every baseball player knows how to field a ground ball.  But we forget sometimes that you cannot do something complex unless you successfully do the simple thing.  In keeping with the baseball theme, you cannot successfully turn a double play unless the shortstop gets his glove on the ground, squares up with ball, and cleanly gets it from his glove to his throwing hand.  Us doctors and nurses couldn’t even begin to deal with the whole complexity of the medical “system” until we can first do all the simple things.

I think that this conference… Continue reading →

Today was definitely an eye opening experience for a rising M2.  Its something we can all imagine, yet something that we put in the back of our minds… something that were never going to do. Making a life threatening mistake is something that is possible everyday as a resident or attending.  I think we believe as medical students that its never going to happen to us, yet statistics show that its certainly possible.

Hellen’s story about Lewis is such a wakeup call for us that are soon to be Interns and junior residents.  The loss of her son was almost purely due to the fear and/or over confidence experienced by those young physicians.  I think its something that nobody wants to think about, but something that we all need to acknowledge before we start seeing patients.  Honestly thats my biggest reason for attending this conference…… Continue reading →