Ripples)))

Dr. Dina and I typically meet on Friday mornings before our clinic day starts to refresh our skills in performing various procedures- particularly HALO procedures (high acuity low occurrence). This week Dr. Sina Khaksar, a resident physician from California, arrived for an elective rotation at our site. Mariano, our current N. Barrett Self Scholarship recipient, is also spending time with us prior to beginning his clinical rotations in January.

With the influx of new learners, we decided to double down on our training volume. For the next few weeks we will meet twice weekly. Thursdays are dedicated to ultrasound training- specifically, echocardiogram. Fridays are focused on procedures.

We kicked our training off with a review of systolic function on Thursday. By the conclusion of our first session, we were all able to estimate ejection fraction (EF) via Simpson's Biplane Method. This approach is often considered the "gold standard" for sonographic quantification of left ventricle volume and can be challenging to complete.

In full transparency, it was necessary to bribe our ultrasound model (my 6yo son, Taylor) with Q5 (roughly $0.65) to achieve his cooperation as staying stationary for more than a few seconds is exceedingly challenging for him.

We wrapped up the first week of our intensive training curriculum with a procedure packed Friday morning session that included:

• Tube Thoracostomy

• Thoracentesis

• Ultrasound Guided Pericardiocentesis

Investing the time and energy in such training has the potential to pay off immediately in the appropriate clinical context. In addition to any immediate benefit, the investment in teaching and learning contributes to a latent potential that will accrue and compound interest over time to produce outsized benefits in the future for patients at our clinic site as well as anywhere our learners may carry and propagate their skills in the future.

Small, seemingly inconsequential, efforts today hold the potential to produce ever-enlarging ripples that will extend into the future and positively impact the lives of countless individuals.

May we all make regular investments today towards building a better tomorrow.

Top Photo by zhang kaiyv on Unsplash