As I travel out to Colorado and leave the bustle of the hospital behind me for the week, I have finally had some time to reflect on my experiences and to gather my thoughts and expectations for the week ahead of me.
I am tired after a long few weeks working in the hospital, this happens to all of us I’m sure – and it’s not only the physical demands required of us but also the emotional demands that are not as readily obvious to the outside observer that we are subjected to each and every day that require our energy.
It is so interesting to be in a field surrounded by people who are here for one unifying reason – to help others – and yet somehow despite wanting that so badly we still fall short in many ways and sometimes struggle to work together in interdisciplinary teams to ensure that we do right by each of our patients.
Just this week I was exposed to so many mishaps – lapses in communication, missed orders, delayed labwork, a central line misplaced in the carotid causing a large stroke.
We all come into work hoping to provide the best care for our patients and none of us ever want to be responsible for mistakes or sub-par care. We work tirelessly to provide this but still have to go face these problems day by day and sometimes we only can wonder what we can do to repair the system. I am so excited to come together to find out what we can do as individuals, leaders, and members of a much bigger community to improve healthcare and ultimately our successes in the mission that we have all set out to accomplish.