by Brian Do
Having an abstract accepted by the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) for its conference last week in Boston was a high honor. Attending the conference itself was a very intellectually stimulating – and eye opening – experience.
Although the conference was geared toward surgeons, as a patient, I felt like it was important to immerse myself and see through their lens. As the team’s patient advisor, my job is to make sure the team is grounding mPOWEr for the end-user: Patients. However, I also know that there are other moving parts that strive for the best patient care possible- the care team. The nurses, doctors, surgeons and countless others carry out their patient caring role in various shapes and sizes. Our mPOWEr workflow with reflects and illustrates this. Our pilot implementation at UW Medicine reinforces the team mentality.
As a student with an interest in minimally invasive techniques and technology, I was astounded and impressed by what I saw and heard at SAGES. A lot of the content in the discussions, panels, lectures and technology demos was beyond my understanding. Despite this, I was able to appreciate the push for innovation, accountability, steady professionalism and care the attendees had for their patients. The stories, issues, controversies surgeons face today only made me more resolute in my work for the mPOWEr. The conversations I had in exhibited halls made me excited at what is on the cutting edge of technology, techniques and research. The meetings with fellow patient-centric researchers may have been impromptu and criminally short, but our synergistic exchange of ideas regarding patient education invigorated me. I look forward to keeping touch with these individuals around the world.
As I digest the last week, I mark the one year anniversary of my last abdominal surgery and the approaching one year mark on the team. I cannot wait for what’s next for mPOWEr.