Arlington National Cemetery was a great choice for our afternoon trip, particularly given our focus on mindfulness this week. It’s hard not to be reflective in a place with so much history and pain and culture and physical beauty. I’ve been there a handful of times, and I always enjoy the quotes engraved at JKF and Bobby Kennedy’s graves. I’m sure neither of them had patient safety in mind when they spoke, but the content resonates with what we’re doing here nonetheless:

“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current that can sweep down the… Continue reading →

After my first day the thing I am most struck by is how much I enjoy this group of people. I was expecting bright, accomplished students–and they are that–but I was surprised by how well and how quickly a group of twenty or so strangers came together and started enjoying themselves.

On the faculty side I’m thankful that there are people ahead of me professionally who think the status quo isn’t working. It can be hard to be sure of your perspective when you’re at the bottom of the ladder. Hearing senior physicians and nurses voice concerns about the culture of communication and specifically site the role senior staff have to play in the issue is really validating. Having that type of support shifts the issue from one of “that’s just how it is” to “what can we do about it.”