In a continuous effort to foster and enhance the environment and practices of professionalism, the Salim El-Hoss Bioethics and Professionalism Program (SHBPP) at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) held two consecutive workshops led by Dr. Haavi Morreim, Professor at the Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis and Vice-Chair of the American Bar Association's Task Force on Alternative Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management in Health Care. Conducted under the auspices of the SHBPP, the workshops, which took place on December 4 and 5, 2015 in AUB, brought together different members of healthcare and risk management teams from AUBMC.
The focus of the first workshop, “Disclosing Adverse Outcomes and Errors: Training for Coaches”, was providing specific tools, strategies and concrete practices for the healthcare team. It intended to help in disclosing medical errors and outcomes in a productive manner. Associate Dean for Medical Education, Dr. Kamal Badr, gave the opening speech followed by a presentation and a talk on behalf of Executive VP for Medical Affairs and Global Strategy and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Mohamed H. Sayegh. Presentations were also given by the Founding Director ofSalim El-Hoss Bioethics and Professionalism Program (SHBPP), Dr. Thalia Arawi and Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery, Dr. Faek Jamali.Commanded by Dr. Morreim, discussions and exercises including two simulations with professional actors followed. The first day sessions were adjourned with recommendations to draft a proposal and initiate a disclosure team at AUBMC, in addition to drafting a comprehensive policy that supports a safe disclosure of errors.
The objective of the second workshop “Simple Disputes, Complex Sequellae: Resolutions that Work” was to deliver skills for improving communication and resolving disputes in a clinical setting. The opening remarks were stated by Chief of Staff, Dr. Hassan El-Solh, representing Dr. Mohamed H. Sayegh. Later, Dr. Morreim engaged the participants in several exercises with simulations of real life encounters that highlighted the negative implications of inefficient communication. “Distrust and miscommunication are the bottom line of much of the conflicts occurring in healthcare,” she said.
These training sessions are at the core of the 2020 Vision in terms of quality instruction and training that would eventually lead to the advancement of health care delivery. Being the first among a series of training workshops to be organized by the SHBPP, both sessions vivaciously distinguish AUBMC as a leading professional medical and educational center in Lebanon and the region.
