This is the 184th #WILTW I am wary of citing business examples as a means of improving healthcare processes, however it’s always useful to look at something with a different frame. One of our non-executive directors, who has a background in industry, highlighted “Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED)” to me after a talk I delivered … Continue reading Single Minute Exchange of…. Simulation #WILTW →

This is the 33rd #WILTW A few weeks ago we ran a simulation day for the doctors and nurses in our department. It was successful (in terms of perceived value) and hopefully over time we will be able to demonstrate “outcome” based improvement. One of my favourite quotes from the day was: “I’ve learnt a … Continue reading What I learnt this week: The real value of simulation #WILTW →

This is the 178th #WILTW One of the joys of being involved in our simulation programme is the constant stimulus to improve your own practice, especially in the grey area of leadership and communication The critically ill child poses a logistical dilemma. There are various body systems that simultaneously need attention: the airway, the circulation, the … Continue reading Resuscitation Communication: Text or Twitter? #WILTW →

This is the 172nd #WILTW I am returning from the inaugural “Don’t Forget the Bubbles” conference (#DFTB17). Devised by the team who host the website of the same name, this three day paediatric conference held in Brisbane delivered humour, tears and great education in equal measure. There is always a danger of eulogising the impact … Continue reading The ingredients of a great conference #WILTW →

This is the 169th #WILTW Luke has just started a new job in the Emergency Department. As a foundation trainee he is at the beginning of his medical career. Enthusiastic and conscientious at medical school, he’d spent 5 years excitedly waiting for the moment he’d be able to call himself a doctor. His training in … Continue reading Feel the fear #WILTW →

This is the 159th #WILTW You don’t need to have any medical expertise to spot the abnormality in this CT Scan If it took you a bit of time, don’t worry. Not an insignificant number of experienced radiologists missed the gorilla in the top right corner too. While these cognitive games are good fun there … Continue reading How did you not see that? #WILTW →

This is the 83rd #WILTW If you are fan of space travel, astronauts or Prof. Brian Cox this week’s Star Gazing Live may have had you in more of a frenzy than the opening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Live footage of British Astronaut Tim Peake taking off towards, and then docking with, the … Continue reading What I learnt this week: Should we simulate like Spacemen? #WILTW →

This is the 71st #WILTW I am writing this at Heathrow airport. There are thousands of people here and in the last 10 minutes a sizeable percentage of them seem to have descended on one the few ‘Charging Poles”. There are some interesting stand-offs. How long is it acceptable for to plug in a device … Continue reading What I learnt this week: Can rudeness cause harm? #WILTW →

This is the 66th #WILTW and I am delighted to say the first guest posting! Many thanks to Edward Snelson (@sailordoctor) who runs a blog  called GPPaedsTips  This year was the 200th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, famous for being the final conflict of Napoleon Bonaparte, one of history’s greatest generals. At this battle … Continue reading What I learnt this week: Simulating harsh lessons from history #WILTW →