Medicine competency Flashcards
Communication?
Ski instructing
S - had different types of learners, also different backgrounds and ages of people.
T - For safety and the quality of lesson, important to 2 way communicate and empathise in order to establish what people wanted from the lesson and how they learned best.
A - Would also need to use non-verbal cues to recognise when people were struggling with tiredness, anxiety, or if the lesson was moving too slowly for them.
R - I received requests by name and had strong client feedback. My skills definitely developed in this area over time.
For medicine:
- important for patient interactions. we need to empathise and communicate well in order to fully understand their needs so that we can provide the best care possible. I saw this from a GP with a widower. She recognised non-verbal cues that the patient wasn’t being forthcoming about her feelings. As such she was able to push a little harder and help through empathetic communication.
- Also important given prevalence of teamwork. without understanding different team members perspectives and communicating your own effectively, there’s risk of people arguing their perspective rather than working together to find solutions.
- also important when leading a team that you can communicate in order to understand the strengths and weaknesses of team members and allocate efficiently.
- also important to be able to communicate struggles in order to support/ be supported given stress of work.
Teamworking
Starbucks
S - worked in a busy starbucks in Canada.
T - We wanted good rapport and satisfaction amongst employees.
A - The team were empathetic and respectful of one another. This meant that in busy periods, the supervisors understood the strengths of team members and assigned them to efficient roles, and in quiet periods, tasks were rotated to increase variety. We had a group chat and collaborative playlist which both increased rapport and strengthened bonds.
R - low employee turnover, high satisfactions, good customer feedback, good morale.
Medicine:
- teamwork is hugely important.
- stressful job, need to be able to support one another within healthcare team. Important to improve health of coworkers, prevent burnout and improve patient care.
- in multidisciplinary teams it’s important to make the team function more efficiently and to maintain morale. i’ve heard of a doctor looking down on a SLT.
- need to treat patients as valued teammember. many complaints are because of patients feeling disrespected rather than because of clinical errors. also means that we can provide better care by understanding what they expect.
management and leadership
Ski instructing/ captain tennis.
- S - captained tennis club.
T - i had to coordinate with other clubs, submit results, at home matches we cooked dinner for other team, collect match fees each week, order fresh balls for matches, organise training, organise pairings.
A - It was important to communicate well with other teams in order to get directions to their clubs, i then sent this information to the team members. i needed to rotate who would cook a meal each week and ensure they understood how much money they would have from the match fees. Needed to ensure match fees were brought each week. I used a group chat to organise training each week, and looked to feedback from the players as to what we should focus on.
communicated and empathised with players and tested pairings out at training in order to find effective partnerships.
R - we were promoted from division 1 to premier.
Medicine:
These are skills that are important for medicine
- in multidisciplinary teams there will be rotation of leadership, it’s important to communicate and empathise with coworkers to ensure all perspectives are understood so that the patient can receive the best care possible.
- Need to be able to lead healthcare team in care of patient, this involves understanding bigger picture and being willing to delegate.
Planning and organisation?
Ski instructing/ preparing for GAMSAT
S - I needed to plan ski lessons. i would often have a group for a week and was aiming to progress them through at least one level. As such i needed to plan out our week to ensure it would suit the needs of all members, they would have fun and we could explore the mountain fully. Further to this, i was studying for the GAMSAT in the evenings and needed to further plan my time to ensure i could maintain a balanced life, beyond work and study.
A - i communicated and empathised with the groups to determine what type of learners we had, and i had to be flexible in my daily plans depending on energy levels and conditions. My evening plan was more rigid in order to ensure i covered appropriate amounts of content by certain times.
R - I received good feedback as an instructor and scored in the 95th percentile of the gamsat.
Medicine:
- obviously planning and organisation are huge.
- it’s an incredibly demanding career. Schedules change, the academic progression and keeping up with research is continuous, i learned from shadowing just how much paperwork and prioritisation of tasks is required on a daily basis.
- also important to maintain hobbies/ family time to prevent burnout.
- since shadowing, i have been working on my scheduling ability. i’ve often had a mental schedule, but i’m aware this wont cut it with medicine, so i’m working on using a scheduling app in order to organise my time better, but i’m also learning to use it in a way that doesn’t make my day too rigid and lacking in any period of relaxation.
empathy
will and ellie = positive
S - friends who live together had issue around their cleaning and cooking rota.
T - they had a conflict that neither wanted to address but had spoken to me about
A - i empathised with each and understood that there wasn’t any malice. they just had different expectations and perspectives. i worked hard to consider life history and other factors that contributed to the difference. i then encouraged them to speak to each other.
R - they asked me to sit with them and i explained my personal thoughts. they came to understand the different perspectives and worked to find a compromise.
Seb = negative.
S - I had a friend who was struggling with a drinking/ drug problem at university.
T - He wasn’t going to lectures, he was dissociating from his reality through substances and was struggling mentally.
A - I stayed up late and spoke with him/ empathised. I encouraged him to speak to the university counselling service as well as continuing to support him. We were on the same course too so i would walk to his house before lectures to encourage him to come with me.
R - The counselling service helped him learn the causes of his issues and we talked about these too. He reduced his drinking for a period and came to lectures. Unfortunately he fell back into this behaviour and ended up dropping out.
Medicine:
- Empathy is obviously huge. it improves our understanding of patients and coworkers. This means we can provide better care to patients by fully understandng their needs, and we can be more supportive of coworkers to reduce the prevalence of burnout and also function as better teams.
- It can also help with resilience in situations where patients may displace anger towards us. understanding that this is the case will help prevent taking things personally.
- I also learned an important lesson from my friend which i heard is a common issue from a psychiatrist i shadowed. There will be a number of patients that you engage with and try to help who don’t progress, relapse/ are putting in less effort to their care than you are. This is obviously hard to deal with. it creates dissonance between the natural reaction to reduce emotional investment and the desire to remain compassionate.
i learned a good perspective from a paediatrician. She said it’s good to remember that most patients would be in a worse position without our care, so any assistance you provide should be viewed positively even when the outcomes aren’t what you want.
Time management
Gamsat and ski instructing:
S - i was working 40 hour weeks, in a new country, while training for higher levels, and studying for gamsat.
T - I needed to manage my time during ski lessons to ensure my group got the most out of each day - fun and progression as well as being at lunch locations at the correct times. I needed to develop social connections and make time for going out, also have evening time to study and complete routine tasks like cooking, cleaning, going to the gym to stretch because of the effects of skiing all day.
A - I used a pomodoro timer to study with breaks, i had a study schedule that allowed me to structure my time around it. i used my 10 minute breaks to complete tasks like putting clothes in the washer. by understanding the bigger picture i was able to know when i could take an evening off and go out on a spontaneous night with friends.
R - I got good feedback at work, passed my level 1/2 and working with disabilities modules first time, kept on top of socialising and achieved a score in the 95th percentile of the gamsat.
medicine - i saw from shadowing just how much prioritisation needs to be done on a day to day basis.
- studying, working on a changing schedule and maintaining a balanced life requires good time management in order to maintain free time.
Taking initiative
Whistler wired.
S - I noticed inefficiencies in the office processes and also apathy amongst cleaning staff.
T - Wanted to improve these situations.
A - i requested a meeting with the owner. I explained that they could save time and money by having a digital sign in device rather than using a book. I spoke about the fact that employees were having issues with morale and made suggestions for how to improve this.
R - we had monthly parties and received incentives for working well. they updated sign in.
medicine:
- it’s important to be aware of the bigger picture as well as just doing your job.
- There may be inefficiencies within a hospital that should be brought up with the relevant manager.
- in multidisciplinary teams, even when not functioning as the leader, it’s important to be aware of the situation and be able to assert oneself.
- In patient care, there will be situations where initiative needs to be taken quickly. HAving the ability to remain calm under pressure and think critically are important.
Adaptability and flexibility
Lockdowns/ pandemic
S - I had just moved back from canada to a new town. No social connection, working weekends.
T - Rebuild connections that were lost because of time difference, study, maintain resilience despite lack of interaction.
A - I reached out to people and have to leave my pride at the door so to speak. I was open about the situation and apologised for not keeping in touch better during my time abroad. I set myself academic goals in order to have structure and aims to my days.
- I bought resistance bands in order to maintain fitness in my house.
medicine:
- with stresses of work and changing schedules, it’s important to be proactive about maintaining social connections in order to prevent burnout.
- it’s also important to be flexible to changing priorities throughout the day.
Problem solving
Made a website of ski drills
S - taught myself to code during first lockdown.
T - made a website of ski drills that would benefit instructors at my work.
A - I needed to make it mobile compatible. Had to extract information from a variety of sources and work by trial and error to find ways to ensure features were correct across various devices.
R - Managed to do so.
medicine:
- differential diagnosis.
- learning to extract information effectively from evidence to improve practice.
- also helps with prioritisation
- conflict resolution.
