The first day of the Telluride Experience in Napa was very interesting and thought-provoking. I feel lucky to have the opportunity to participate in this event so early in my medical education and I have already learned so much from the faculty and the other participants with varying levels of experience. To be completely honest, although I spend a lot of time reflecting, I find it quite difficult to put my thoughts into writing which is something that I hope to improve through these reflections during my time here.
A topic of discussion today that I found particularly interesting was about mindfulness and the need to second-guess previous conclusions and reassess a plan when new information is discovered. Many people, especially those in the medical field, can be uncomfortable with indecision or uncertainty as it can be difficult to admit that one’s previous assumptions were incorrect or that a definitive answer is not yet evident. Of course indecision and uncertainty on their own are not effective, as we need to be able to make decisions with the information available to develop a plan. Today I realized the importance of maintaining a balance of decisiveness with uncertainty by leaving room for flexibility and avoiding tunnel vision focusing solely on following the plotted course. We constantly have to take into account all of the new data, not just the pieces that fit with our previous conclusions, and continually reassess and adjust.
I look forward to exploring more topics in patient safety tomorrow!