For most individuals, when they are asked why they go into medical or health care, their response runs along the line of “I want to help people” or “I want to make an impact in someone’s life.” After these statements, it is therefore logical to wonder how many people involved in health care truly remember why they decided that this was the path for them. With the state of health care in the country, how many people still remember that we are here to help and not hurt. Therefore, I am attending the Telluride Summer Experience, to learn why things are the way they are. Growing up in a 3rd world country, I was able to observe several healthcare issues going on the hospitals and clinics, with great disregard for patient safety being chief among them. Therefore, it was a shock to me when I moved to the U.S and found that a first world country was grappling with similar issues in the healthcare system.
Attending the Telluride Summer experience will give me the tools needed to be a better advocate for the safety of the patients, whom we are called to serve as medical students, nurses and doctors. Having a group consisting of healthcare workers at different levels, will greatly improve the learning experience, as individuals like myself in medical schools and nursing school can learn from those more experienced, such that we can become more proactive instead of reactive. As more individuals working in hospitals and clinics around the nation keep getting educated about patient care and safety, the ripple effects will keep increasing that maybe someday we can have a system where patient safety becomes paramount in the heart of physicians and nurses around the nation.
