On a Tangent: Mark Twain and a Parting Quote From My Week at SHEA 2019

I  am back from SHEA Spring (Boston, MA) and back home in Richmond, VA. See conference related blog posts here- Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.

Conferencing does not allow for much free time. However, from my erratic readings this past week in a book I purchased during my pre-conference meandering at the famed Brattle Book Shop ( A Bibliophile in Boston blog post here), I leave you with these cogent words from Mark Twain:

Clothes make the man.

Naked people have little or no influence in society.

Amen!

Back to work on Monday.

SHEA Spring 2019 Comes to a Close!

SHEA Spring 2019 comes to a close!

Congratulations to the Society and the Planning Committee on a hugely successful event. You have set a high bar for our next annual meeting.

Very proud to be a SHEA member.

I am exceedingly proud of the VCU Hospital Infection Prevention Program (HIPP) Team. It was a pleasure to see their work referenced by other speakers. The VCU HIPP team really makes it all worthwhile.

As always, I learn more than I contribute at these events.

SHEA 2019 Day 2: VCU Hospital Infection Prevention Program

 L to R: The Blogger, Dr. Nicole Vissichelli (fellow), Dr. Pam Bailey (fellow), Dr. Michelle Doll (assistant professor), Kaila Cooper BSN, RN (IC Director), Rachel Pryor RN, MPH (IC Data and program/research manager), Dr. Barry Rittmann (fellow), Dr. Jacob Pierce (IM resident) and Dr. Michael Stevens (associate professor). 

I am proud to recognize the amazing members of the VCU Hospital Infection Prevention Program and Infectious Diseases team. All are involved in our academic and scholarly work presented at SHEA Spring 2019.

Thank you to SHEA for encouraging and supporting the participation of trainees in the scientific program.

The future of infectious diseases and infection prevention is now, with our high quality and promising trainees.

(Photo credit: Dr. Mike Stevens)

SHEA 2019 Day 2: Session on Organizational Culture and Why it Matters

Thank you to the conference organizers and to my esteemed colleagues Drs. Vineet Chopra, Keith Kaye and Barbara Braun. It was an honor to share the stage with you. More importantly, thank you to the generous audience for their kind attention.

A special gratitude goes to the session moderators,  Drs. Susy Hota and Michelle Doll.

Organizational culture matters! We may not be able to measure it easily and it may be hard to change, but it definitely has an impact on the way we work, our feelings of contribution, our sense of burnout and our quest for safety.

As always, I learn more than I contribute from these sessions.

SHEA Spring 2019 Has Launched!

SHEA Spring 2019 has launched and promises to be high quality.

I am looking forward to the presentations from the VCU Hospital Infection Prevention Program.

Stay tuned.

A Bibliophile in Boston: Brattle Book Shop

I just arrived in Boston, Massachusetts- prior to the SHEA Spring 2019 meeting.

The images are from the famed Brattle Book Shop, one of the city’s oldest used and antiquarian book sellers. 

For me, a self-proclaimed bibliophile, there is no better way to spend a cold, rainy travel day than perusing and buying cool books. 

Looking forward to the conference so stay tuned...

Why Abstraction in Medicine is Dangerous

In the book Leaders Eat Last  Simon Sinek explores the peril of abstraction by leaders.

Abstraction separates leaders from the impact that words and actions have on others and leads us down a potentially dangerous path.

The same holds true for leaders in healthcare. When patients are seen us units of throughput (admissions/discharges), physicians are valued by clinical RVUs and safety events are summarized as numbers on a spreadsheet, abstraction occurs. 

Physician leaders in healthcare should remain clinically engaged, they should walk the walk and talk the talk, as I have previously explored here.

To not do so separates us from our patients, colleagues and the impact of our leadership decisions.