To-do list: summarizing what I learned at Marseille
Where do I even begin when trying to summarize the discussions and ideas sparked by a mere few days at the Marseille Experience in Napa Valley? Without having stepped into a clinic as a medical student in-training, I feel like I have gained a wealth of knowledge that will frame the experiences I do have when I set foot into my first preceptorship in just a few short weeks! To really be able to translate the learning to applied practice, I found myself making a list of things to remember to do as I began my career. In no particular order, here are the 20 things I must do as I strive to work towards zero harm for my patients:
- Engage in regular reality checks. Be able to step back from the detailed task(s) I am performing and take a look at the larger picture.
- Maintain collegiality with EVERYONE. We… Continue reading
Contradictions
Health care fascinates me. As a field dedicated to alleviating suffering through service to fellow people, you would assume that providers would be compassionate towards all and work towards helping all. Through conversations with fellow medical students and partner nursing students, I received a much deeper understanding of the realities of the inequities faced and perpetuated by health care providers from different professions. The historically paternalistic roots run deep and persist to contribute to the damage inflicted on those who receive care as well as those who provide it. Are we, as health care professionals, able to serve those who need us most when we can’t even take care of each other?
Contradiction 1: Doctors put nurses down and nurses resent doctors. Doctors put newer doctors (in-training) down and those trainees suffer – personally and professionally. Nurses cause trouble for newer (in-training) nurses and those nurses suffer. The cycle… Continue reading
Questions > Answers
I told a colleague I would be out for a week to attend a patient safety conference, and her first comment was, “Oh, is that a particular interest for you? Patient safety?” As a student training to work with patients as a career, I couldn’t understand how any topic with the word ‘patient’ in it had the option of being an interest. Whether I liked it or not, I needed to know it and figure out how to make it an interest because it would be the main focus of my career.
From the opening remarks of the Marseille Experience, it was clear that whatever level of interest I had in patient safety prior to the conference would be exceeded as it has now consumed my thinking. It was the perfect riddle. Everything seemed to contribute to it and lack of something reduced it. Everyone needed to be aware of… Continue reading