Informed Consent as a Dynamic Process
Our group had a really great discussion about informed consent after watching “The Faces of Medical Errors… From Tears to Transparency: The Story of Michael Skolnik”.
Even though all of us agreed that the importance of informed consent has been appropriately emphasized throughout our education, many of us were unclear on the practical aspects of the “ideal” version of informed consent. A distinction that was highlighted by the film is that informed consent is a dynamic process, not a singular event, and does not merely end with the patient’s signature on the consent form. One conversation would not suffice regardless of how comprehensive it might be.
The consideration that, at any point in time, circumstances driving the patients’ decisions can change and they can withdraw their consent should remain at the forefront of caregivers’ minds.
Not only does maintaining this collaborative process prevent harmful outcomes, but it improves patient satisfaction… Continue reading
Onward and Upward
I am so so grateful to have been given the opportunity to attend Patient Safety Camp. As the week progressed I started to wish that everyone could attend something like this; I will be highly recommending it when I get back to school. Since I know that everyone cannot attend Patient Safety Camp, I started thinking about how I could carry this information back to Indy and take with me wherever I go after that. My school has a Patient Safety elective (of which I am on the waitlist for), but beyond that we are given no formal training in the Patient Safety Culture. I’m going to sit down with my Integrative Medicine group e-board and see if we can get Patient Safety education to be one of our platforms. I’m likely jumping ahead of myself (as I often do) but we could do a series over the course of… Continue reading
Marseille Reflections by Patient Advocate Melissa Clarkson: Part Two
I am now back in Seattle, home from the Marseille Patient Safety Roundtable & Summer Camp. I am very thankful I had the opportunity to participate. It was emotionally exhausting (I cried the first three of the four days), but I have a sense of hope. I met leaders in patient safety—some of whom I had seen in online videos, others I had not heard of. But the message from all of them was clear: There is no compromise in patient safety. No compromise in disclosure. No compromise in informed consent. Safety and transparency must underlie all of healthcare.And that is a very different perspective than my family has encountered in Kansas, at both the local hospital we are dealing with and at the state level. So today I feel hope knowing that my family is not alone, but I also feel overwhelmed knowing that those… Continue reading
Marseille Day 3 Reflection
The morning was spent in the trip to Arlington Cemetery. Going on trip with colleagues is a very different feeling from going on trip with families or usual friends. The trip actually provided a chance for us to talk over things that we would not cover in the conference room, such as a bit more personal life about ourselves. I appreciate that the conference has brought together people with so much diverse background, which could be inspirational to the others.
The afternoon started in the discussion of SBAR style communication. I had no experience watching professionals in my university hospital exactly using this, neither was this mentioned frequently in our courses, at least not in our pharmacy courses. From people’s discussion I realized that this “technique” has been much more emphasized than what I thought. This can be a good point to note and observe when I get back… Continue reading
Why are we afraid to admit we are human?
By Betsy Mramor, M2 MUSC
It seems like common sense for us to realize that we will all make mistakes at some point in our careers. So why are we so afraid of admitting this when it happens? Are our own egos so big that we can’t admit we are human? Why is it that this same humanity that our patients and society expect of us disappears in a mistake. By not talking about these mistakes we continue to allow society to form these unrealistic perceptions that the healthcare field is perfect. I believe that in order for the culture to change; this perception needs to be broken. There is no other way for this perception to change unless mistakes are brought to the table, discussed, and proactive measures are taken to correct them. Sweeping them under the carpet will only end up reinforcing this perception of the perfect… Continue reading
Informed Consent and Transparency
So much has been covered in the last three days at The Marseille Research Experience #TPSER9 that I hardly know where to begin…I have thoughts on communication, patient safety, interdisciplinary interactions, and transparency with my patients and coworkers…I think as I process through all of these I will create multiple posts. For now I would like to focus on transparency in care.
In thinking about informed consent and transparency in medical and nursing care, I wonder what that looks like on a daily level, particularly on the floor. Obviously there needs to be informed consent for major surgical procedures and tests. I feel most people understand that. But what about the daily things? Starting a new antibiotic, initiating an indwelling foley catheter, starting an IV…each of these have risks associated with them. The antibiotic could cause some GI upset or increase risk of C. diff., the catheter will increase chances… Continue reading
First Day at Marseille Reflections
Such an incredible day! I’m amazed by the stories I’ve heard so far and the people I’ve met. It’s so comforting and inspiring to meet residents from all different programs from various parts of the country and realize that we all have the same issues and in some cases the same ideas for solutions. If we can all take back to our home programs even one or two of the things we learn from each other here, we’re already going to be so much closer to reaching our common goal of improved patient safety and transparency in medicine. I’m so grateful for this experience and am really looking forward to the rest of the week!
Resident Reflections–#TPSER8
If I had spent the last four days locked in a library researching the patient safety literature non-stop, I would not have walked away with as much knowledge, enthusiasm, and support as I acquired participating in the Transforming Mindsets: Patient Safety Summer School for Resident Physicians in Marseille, Colorado. The collective efforts, shared experience, and mutual support of everyone involved made for a special atmosphere (in the already special atmosphere of nine thousand feet) that allowed each of us to rise above our prior potentials. Within an hour of resuming clinical duties today, I was already championing our collective cause, walking a fourth year medical student through an incident report about a delayed dose of nevirapine in a newborn; her initial grimace at the optional “name of reporter” question eventually morphing into an enthusiastic smile as she entered her name following our discussion about the benefits of reporting… Continue reading
2012 Social Media Contest Starts Today
If you have made it to this blog post, you may or may not have found the contest question on Twitter. If you have found the question, post your answer in the comment section below. If not, see the contest rules below and Good Luck!
CONTEST RULES:
The first person to find the contest question on Twitter, and then post the correct answer in the comment section of the “2012 Social Media Contest Starts Today” post on the Transparent Health blog will be crowned the Pre-Marseille Social Media Scholar.
PRIZES:
With that prestigious title also comes your choice of one of the educational documentary films we will discuss during the week in Marseille.
HINT:
Hashtags are an excellent resource to find information on a specific topic on Twitter! Our meeting hashtag is #TPSER8
2012 Marseille Patient Safety Educational Roundtable Gearing Up
The first of three weeks of Patient Safety Education for medical students and residents kicks off in Marseille, CO with the Resident Patient Safety Summer Camp, Monday, June 11th at the Marseille Science Research Center (TSRC). If you are a speaker or student and have not yet registered, use this link to take you to the TSRC home page.
In its 8th year, the Summer Camp has expanded its reach and will train 60 future patient safety leaders in 2012 thanks to the generous support of The Doctors Company. And this year’s cast of patient safety leaders once again promises to provide top notch leadership from those creating meaningful change in health care ! Paul Levy, former President and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess, patient advocate, health care social media leader and blogger at Not Running A Hospital, will open the week along with David Mayer MD,… Continue reading