Postgraduate medical journal
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In the 21st century, the core skills of trainee doctors are evolving as clinicians, leaders and innovators. Leadership skills are an essential tool for all doctors and need to be an integral part of their training and learning as set out in the General Medical Council's Good Medical Practice. It is essential to develop these skills at an early stage and continually improve them. ⋯ As part of the process of implementing change, we faced a number of challenges which contributed to our learning. These have been explored as well as potential ways to overcome them to enable the swift and smooth development of future QI projects. Using an example of a QI project looking at handover, this article demonstrates how a trainee doctor can implement their project for both professional and institutional improvement.
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To determine whether a pathology request form allowing interns and residents to order only a limited range of laboratory blood tests prior to consultation with a registrar or consultant can reduce test ordering in an emergency department (ED). ⋯ Pathology request forms limiting tests that an intern and resident may order prior to consultation with a registrar or consultant are an effective low maintenance method for reducing laboratory test ordering in the ED that is sustainable over 12 months.
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Patient whiteboards facilitate communication between patients and hospital providers, but little is known about their impact on patient satisfaction and awareness. Our objectives were to: measure the impact in improving patients' understanding of and satisfaction with care; understand barriers for their use by physicians and how these could be overcome; and explore their impact on staff and patients' families. ⋯ Inpatient whiteboards help physicians and ancillary staff with communication, improve patients' awareness of their care team, admission plans and duration of admission, and significantly improve patient overall satisfaction.