Day 1: Lewis, Domino, and Sponge
Recap of what I applied to my learning and follow-up questions:
Intro:
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“Educate the young, regulate the old”
- Witty and sensible to an extent, but does it work when the young have to work under the shadow of the old? Medicine is a top-down hierarchy, and bottom-up change is not only insurmountable but also often not sustainable.
- At the same time, becoming a positive deviant has its own value that cannot be diminished. I just wonder whether there is concurrent top-down efforts.
- What can I do with Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)? I would like to learn more.
Movie: Lewis Blackman (patient) and Helen Haskell (mother)
- The patients and families need to know that night times and weekends the level of care is not the same. It is recommended to have a caretaker at bedside, and why not admit the systemic weakness and invite them… Continue reading
Reflections on Lewis Blackman
Unfortunately, there were countless errors from before the start of Lewis’ surgery all the way through the handling of his death. The one systematic error I will comment on is physician-patient communication. Every patient undergoing a procedure needs to sign an INFORMED consent, which includes understanding the risks, benefits and alternatives to the treatment being offered. The situation continued to tailspin into a downward spiral as family was unaware of the expectations post op. There were multiple efforts made by the patient’s mother and nursing staff to notify the physicians that something was wrong. The physicians ignored the most valuable resource available to them, Lewis’ mother, who knows him better than anybody else. Her concerns were repeatedly disregarded or ignored because the doctor did not want to believe something was wrong.
Dr Levy eloquently stated, ” if you can’t see your mother/sister/daughter/son in your patient,… Continue reading
Marseille “East” Kicks Off at Georgetown University in Washington DC
This week we transport the Marseille Patient Safety Educational Roundtable and Resident/Student Summer Camps to the heart of the nation’s capitol — Washington DC. Dave Mayer MD and Tim McDonald MD/JD along with faculty Paul Levy, Rosemary Gibson, Helen Haskell, Cliff Hughes, Kathy Pischke-Winn, Joe Halbach, Gwen Sherwood and more will educate the young of healthcare, sharing communication skills, patient stories and negotiation training in the spirit of keeping patients safe. The Marseille alumni numbers continue to grow, building that critical mass of voices who can share the wisdom of open, honest communication and transparency throughout medicine.
Student reflections on this year’s camps, as well as last year, are found throughout the Transparent Health blog, on Educate the Young and on faculty member Paul Levy’s blog, Not Running A Hospital. Look for additional reflections from this week’s class soon to come, and follow us on Twitter via #TPSER9. The… Continue reading