With an eye toward patient experience and better understanding how she can continuously improve safety, Nadia Hameed Pasha, MD, recently found inspiration with a peer book club.
Along with 15 colleagues at Duke Raleigh Hospital (DRAH), she read and examined “Dopesick,” a New York Times best-seller about America’s opioid crisis. Pasha said reading about the history of the national emergency put her role with the issue into perspective.
“Reading and talking about the book helped me reflect on how I can better connect with patients on a personal level,” said Pasha, a hospital medicine specialist at DRAH. “It’s our responsibility to always give empathetic care and grow in our understanding of patient safety best practices.”
The club was brought together by Adia Ross, MD, MHA, CPHQ, medical director at DRAH. It’s one of the ways she’s encouraging herself and colleagues to keep an open dialogue about how to better help patients and their loved ones.
“You can keep improving your service to others by understanding the ways patients are impacted by their health and the conditions that brought them to you for care,” Ross said. “Their safety is at the forefront of what’s important to us and learning from this book and each other’s experiences helps us better advocate for what’s best for our patients.”
For Pasha, that means further exploration and discussion. She’s already reading other books on the opioid crisis, biotechnology and the U.S. health care system. It’s leading to deeper conversations and more personalized care with patients. She’s also working toward collaborative sessions with other team members to talk about pain management.
“We’re all looking for ways to improve the quality and safety of our care for the sake of our patients,” Pasha said. “Understanding how we can positively impact them on a medical and social level is really important.”
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