Lessons learned from
Daring
Greatly.
1
Dr. Brene Brown begins her book with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the
strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is
marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at best
knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails,
at least fails while daring greatly.” —Theodore Roosevelt
It isn't often that we boast about times when we don't come away with the “win”. Yet, this is the time to make an exception. Yes, I do like to “win” but it is true that
winning isn’t everything. It is so important to highlight the times and
events in life when we can say that we came away from an event learning an
incredible amount about ourselves, our purpose in healthcare education, and the
efforts we've been pouring into a simulation program over the last several
years.
On April 9th and 10th the Drexel simulation team
participated in a SimWars® event hosted by Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown,
Pennsylvania. As someone who has participated both on stage and as a judge of
SimWars® competitions, I can honestly say that SimWars® experience has
challenged me to Dare Greatly. After
each experience from both sides of the fence, I find myself carefully reflecting
upon the aspects of our simulation curriculum.
It takes an incredible amount of courage to get up on stage and
effectively communicate with colleagues, take care of patients and manage chaos
in front of an audience. Yet, James
Connelly, MD, John Erbayri, NREMT-P, Greg Owsik, MD, Melissa Fox, RN, Jami
Smith, PA-C, Casey Hand, MD, Barry Mitchneck, RN and Russell Goldstein, MD readily rose to the
challenge. They comprise a group of
healthcare providers with experience ranging from finishing the first year of
residency to over 20 years of patient care experience.
I was overwhelmingly proud of our Sim Wars Teams as they drew upon deep
pools of knowledge, used effective crisis resource management communication
skills, and truly delivered great examples of healthcare delivery. Their simulation performances reminded me
that most healthcare errors can be traced back to poor communication or lack of
provider knowledge or skills. Simulation
allows the opportunity to practice, make mistakes and learn from them in a safe
environment away from patients. Athletes, musicians, pilots, hairdressers and
chess players practice -- why isn’t it a standard in healthcare provider
training?
Our trainees know that the more I learn, the more I realize I don’t
know. I learn something each time I have
the opportunity to participate in a simulation session. I am grateful that our program has been
fortunate to invest in the advancement of simulation education and I thank all
of our Sim Team, participants and educators for stepping into the ring with me
as they dare greatly.
References
1. Brown
B.
DARING GREATLY: How the Courage to Be
Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. New York,
NY: Gotham Books published by the Penguin Group; 2012.
To find out more about the MSMS program check out our website atdrexelmed.edu/mssim and follow us on twitter @mssimdrexel
