The last couple days have been wonderful. They have been engaging, exciting, jam-packed, but truly thought provoking. One of the activities that has stuck with me most thus far is the video that we watched today about Michael. Videos such as these effectively remind me of my naivety; terrible things happen to good people everyday and most often these terrible things can be prevented. Michael’s story was most moving for me because of the misrepresentation and miscommunication of information about his surgery in the first place. This made me realize how fortunate I have been to have physicians, even in a primary care setting, explicitly inform me of procedures that he/she wishes to do and why. I feel so much more aware of the elementary but crucial information that can sometimes be overlooked by the physician in their communicating with a patient. In order to foster a more safe patient environment, effective communication is the cornerstone. To ensure that communication is effective, in this case, aspects such as benefits and risks must be made aware to a patient for all parties involved to make the safest decision for the well being of the patient as a team.
