Doctors Advancing Patient Safety (DAPS) Summer School 2014 Review
Deborah Kirkham, Vijay Ahuja, Daniel Haslam, Kimmee Kahn, Daniel Sommer
On Friday 13th June (lucky for some), a group of twenty two wide-eyed and bushy tailed junior doctors assembled in High Wycombe. Ranging from FY1 to ST3, the absence of senior colleagues was no coincidence. Working at the clinical coalface, junior doctors are in a uniquely privileged position to see flaws within the system. Equally, having not yet been jaded by protocol and bureaucracy, we have the energy and imagination to develop novel solutions. This was the prevailing theme for the third Doctors Advancing Patient Safety (DAPS) Summer School extravaganza.
Redesigning a poorly-performing service allowed us to use our knowledge of the NHS to suggest radical solutions such as removing waiting rooms entirely in outpatients, and the use of liaison geriatricians in the emergency department. Our final task? Imagine a hospital in the future, and create a technological innovation. Some seemed impossible, even absurd, but all incredibly useful to medical practice. The proposal of nanotechnology in monitoring patients’ blood results suggests that medics can be scientists too!
The activities, challenges, and presentations taught us some invaluable lessons. Firstly, you can do it! There were countless examples of trainees driving an improvement project based on their observations, and ideas for how things could be made better. The use of ‘Plan, Do, Study, Act’ (PDSA) cycles was advocated as a great way to measure the current situation, and the impact of interventions. The quality improvement aficionados suggested analysing a small sample every day – even one or two cases, rather than 50 sets of notes over a month. The engagement of stakeholders including staff and patients is crucial, and being quick to react to the modifications that work, and those that don’t, are key to success and completing a project in the four months you spend in a department.
There are three key learning points we’d share with other junior doctors. Firstly, the importance of finding and defining the problem before you try and find the solution. So many doctors work enthusiastically on IT systems, apps, checklists etc. only to realise that they’re not a solution to the problem they started with. Secondly (and most importantly) – find allies and stick to them like glue. Actively seek out junior and senior colleagues, not just medics, who are passionate about quality improvement and combine your energies and brains to make things happen! Finally, keep your eyes peeled for next year’s summer school – we’ll see you there!
My abiding memory from the Summer School was when, after I’d said, “That wouldn’t be feasible”, someone replied, “If you say that, you’ve already lost.” That single idea epitomised DAPS Summer School for me – don’t feel constrained by the system; rather, have the courage and the imagination to change it.
Vijay Ahuja, CT1
The DAPS summer school was a breath of fresh air. I initially expected the typical agenda of most conferences, lectures followed by coffee break followed by more lectures and maybe a Q&A session. The summer school was the polar opposite. Interactive, fun, engaging, and most of all – inspiring.
Kimmee Khan, FY1
The take-home message for me was the importance of a flattened hierarchy for those serious about quality improvement. Every member of the team has something to add, and often it is those who are not ‘institutionalised’ by years in the NHS who conceive the most innovative solutions.
Deborah Kirkham, ST3
Following the DAPS summer school, I have been reignited with even more enthusiasm about quality improvement than before. The engagement I saw between fellow colleagues has inspired me to deliver quality improvement projects, and to create a friendly network to achieve this.
Daniel Haslam, FY1
The DAPS Summer school was a great opportunity to be inspired by the future leaders of healthcare. Seeing junior doctors giving their hard-earned time off to develop their skills in quality improvement was heartening. Personally, I relished being able to use my brain in a different way and work just hasn’t felt the same since!
Daniel Sommer, FY2
DAPS Global is proud to present its first international summit for junior doctors by junior doctors. The Summit has been designed to maximise the potential of its delegates, by putting them in the driving seat and helping to shape the future of healthcare locally, nationally and globally. You can submit your work for oral or poster presentations with international awards also available. Please go to http://dapsglobal.com/summit/ for further information.