Spain 2017 Photogallery Posted!

For anyone interested in viewing some of my city-scene snapshots from Spain (Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Granada and El Chinchon) please visit my recently published Spain 2017 photo gallery.

Click here for the gallery.

Muchas gracias.

Getting Stuck in the Negatives

As a Division Chair I have learned a bit about human nature. 

We are commonly biased towards the negative and we frequently fall into the busy trap (not my own term). In managing people I have observed that a negative experience, such as an overwhelming day on the consult service or a rejected manuscript, is normalized as the 'way things are.' 

I found this TED lecture by academician Alison Ledgerwood from University of California- Davis insightful and spot on.

Much like physical training, mental training takes practice (awareness, meditation, reflection, practicing gratitude). And much like physical training, there is no end lest one become unfit again.  Minimizing being surrounded by negative colleagues and leaders also helps.

We have mental plasticity.  Awareness leads to better decisions and better experiences. 
Negativity need not be the norm. 

In Spain: Random Images

I am in Spain and blogging light (or hardly at all). 

This week's only post contains some random images from Madrid, Toledo, Granada and Seville. I will update my website with the best of the lot in the near future.

Adiós

The photographer

Palacio Real, Madrid

Toledo

Plaza España, Seville

El Alhambra, Granada

Chocolate

Zurbarán Painting, Hotel Door, Seville

Seville

Chlorhexidine Bathing- Practical Considerations

It has been a very busy week back on the consult service so my blogging has been light.

Chlorhexidine (CHG) bathing decreases multi-drug resistant organisms acquisition and decreases hospital acquired bloodstream infection rates, particularly in ICUs.

But having a bathing policy for CHG bathing and actually implementing it with high reliability are two different matters. The other day I met with nurse leadership at my institution to underscore the need for heightened implementation of CHG bathing.

Requiring mandatory, web-based training and re-training on bathing is the next step in raising awareness.

Option to measure CHG bathing include:

• Choosing not to assess CHG bathing: Not likely the best option
• Performing direct patient observation of CHG bathing: not practical, privacy concerns
• Performing skin calorimetry assessment of CHG residue post bath, as done in research protocols: not feasible
• Requiring electronic medical record (EMR) structured documentation with audit and feedback- bingo!

It may not be sexy and it may not be the most reliable (documentation does not confirm that bathing was done accurately) but a may be a satisfactory albeit imperfect way of measuring patient CHG bathing. 

This is exactly what we will continue to do, communicating the EMR mined bathing automated reports back to unit and hospital leadership on a monthly basis. 

Not surprisingly, CHG bathing practice and documentation is improving.

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat! Caftazidime-Avibactam for CRE Infections- The Jaws Analogy

I like it when a scientific paper has en element of wit and is not so dry and formulaic.

In the editorial accompanying a clinical outcomes paper assessing ceftazidime-avibactam for the treatment of patient with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infection, the authors reference the film Jaws. 

When the experienced shark hunter , Chief Brody, catches his first glimpse of the massive predator shark he famously exclaims " We're gonna need a bigger boat!"

I could not agree more.

With the growing CRE problem, the modest clinical response of treating CRE infections with ceftazidime-avibactam (59% clinical success) does indeed suggest that 'we're gonna need a bigger boat' antibiotic to manage these tough cases.

Our struggle with pesky drug resistant pathogens continues.

Rest- Not Just the Opposite of Work: Protect it and Practice it Deliberately to Maximize Creativity, Productivity and Wellness

You would think that I am writing a blog about books as of late. I promise to get back to infectious diseases and infection prevention soon.

This last book really challenged and changed my way of doing things. No more simply pressing on relentlessly or toiling blindly and inefficiently through seemingly endless work tasks. Rest, by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, explores the concept of rest as an equal to work. 

Resting is not simply sleeping in or binge watching NetFlix. Rest is an active, deliberate activity which includes recognizing and respecting times of maximal productivity (usually in 4 hour blocks) and creating time and space for alternate, restorative activities such as napping, walking, exercising, stopping work at strategic times, cultivating hobbies with purpose and taking structured breaks (sabbaticals) to pursue invigorating yet related skills and interests.

Rest maximizes awareness, increases focus, cultivates calm, organizes our lives and allows us to achieve more under less stress.

Harmony.