Today- the first day at Telluride 2014 – was filled with stories. I expected lessons on safety and quality, but the teaching was much more organic. We heard incredible, emotional stories that left many us of us jarred, uncomfortable, and often in tears– especially Helen Haskell’s story. As a new parent myself, the idea of the loss of a child is incomprehensible. Today’s teaching came out of our own reactions to the difficult stories we heard as a group. My takeaway today goes back to Paul Levy’s book and the concept of going to Gemba — the “actual place.” As I finish up my PGY-1 year and think about all of the very sick patients I cared for, I realize the importance of physically being in the place of importance– the bedside. So much of my work this year has been away from the bedside, reviewing charts and entering orders, coordinating care and dispo issues, tweaking electrolytes. Today’s stories reiterated to me the simple fact that a human is in that room and to care for that person, you need to be in that room as well. You need to go to Gemba.
