Can Patient Safety save a President?
As part of TSPER2014, we were able to read some fantastic books/articles/stories. They opened my eyes to the consequences of failing to make patient safety a priority. I’d like to add another to the list (and give a recommendation for anyone looking for a good read).
Destiny of the Republic, by Candice Millard is the story of James Garfield, our 20th President of the US. Garfield is often forgotten as a president, perhaps because his legacy was cut short by his assassination in the middle of his Presidency. This book goes into the details of that story and what could have happened if he hadn’t been shot.
But what does that have to do with patient safety? The truly interesting part of Garfield’s story is the medical care he received after being shot. At the hands of his doctors, a very survivable trauma became 11 weeks of torture and… Continue reading
The Fear of Sacrifice
In many ways, this has been an awe-inspiring, fantastic week (if I did a root cause analysis, I’d say there isn’t one cause, but many: all of my colleagues who are here with me).
But, I wanted to share a more sobering experience I had this evening. Today focused on more of the breakdowns in communication, transparency, and trust that cause patient harm. And, then, as if those problems weren’t enough, we ended the day on a video of a litigation commercial for malpractice (he doesn’t wear socks!). It leaves you with a feeling of uneasiness, with a smattering of cynicism and despair sprinkled in there too. Not only do I have to confront a broken system, bad politics, misaligned cultures (and this just within medicine), but I have to do it while some pretty terrible sounding people are trying to take advantage of that and put me out of… Continue reading