So here I am, after four packed, but informative and enjoyable days, at the Baltimore Airport waiting for my flight home. I can’t help but reflect on not only the valuable presentations, lectures, and activities from which I learned during my time at the Maryland/DC session, but also the camaraderie and collaboration between the attendees. And I’ve realized–all the “extra” stuff we did during these past four days, from the icebreaker night to group dinners to our DC outing, really allowed for a productive environment. Having gotten to know and befriend my fellow attendees made it all the more easy and fun to discuss the various topics that were covered during our session. I think such was a great example of one of the overarching themes of the conference: that mutual trust, good communication, and openness make a system (e.g. a healthcare institution) function better. And how exactly… Continue reading →

So earlier today, after watching a video regarding an unnecessary surgery gone south, a few colleagues and I began discussing some of the factors that led to the unfortunate death of a young man at the hands of an apparently my-way-or-the-highway type neurosurgeon. Just to give some context, the neurosurgeon in the story was one who recently moved from another state and had a few pending cases against him from his old practice; he had moved to a small hospital that wished to start a neurosurgery program, with him spearheading it.

We discussed many of the problems, whether systems-based, human-based, or otherwise, that contributed to this malpractice. One (albeit tangential to the main discussion) thing that struck our group during our discussion was the apparent hypocrisy in some medical professionals regarding training and residents. Many a time, physicians will be admitted to a hospital, or will have children or… Continue reading →