1. Problem statement
Stakeholder
NEEDS A WAY TO
(describe person using empathetic language) (needs are VERBS)
DO
SAY
THINK
FEEL
BECAUSE
InsightNeed
STAKEHOLDER
Insights
Design Thinking Action Lab 2013
Age 32
Motivated
4th year E.R. resident
Passionate about saving lives
Independent
Caring
Educated and street smart
Seasoned Emergency Medicine
resident in her final year
prepare and encourage new
residents for residency hardships
of her experience with college,
medical school and residency
over the past 13 years.
‣ 5 years college, 4 years med school
‣ Knowledge from prerequisites rarely used
‣ Felt clueless at start of residency; no experience with patients
‣ "The only real practical side of my education is residency. The rest is building blocks.
It all builds on top of each other."
"The way [they] work you is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, you wouldn't be a good doctor."
‣ 30/hr shifts / 80 hr weeks with demands for study/exam prep, conference, projects,
research, reading the latest literature, meetings, etc.
‣ "I hated [being on 30 hour calls in the ICU]. I was brain dead. I guess it conditions you."
‣ "I learned that systems are out-dated." One trauma hospital I did a rotation in would
cut people's clothes off and intubate them without trying to calm patients. "That's
completely different from the trauma protocol I learned in my program. The only
thing I learned there was how to kill patients!"
‣ Interns get babied their first year and the senior supervisor picks up the
slack. As a result, interns going into their 2nd year overwhelmed with
hardly any time spent in th E.R. because of rotating in other parts of the
hospital
‣ "Because we're [hospital name], we are one of the most resourceful
hospitals in the world—consults, testing, MRI, ultrasound, etc.—and that's
not realistic. When I go out to work at a less resourceful hospital,
I won't know what to do. It's a major concern of mine, but I've
talked to other graduate students and they say they felt that way,
but they were actually more prepared.
‣ The hardships endured during her education and residency
program were a necessary evil to prepare her for the realities of
taking charge in a emergency room after graduation: "I'm sure Navy Seals
said 'Fuck!' during their training, but were glad they went through it when they
were in battle."
‣ Her motivation [to study and become a better doctor] never
disappeared. Once her schedule opened up and she worked less hours,
she got out her text books and made time to study often.
‣ Other people in her program feel the same way about the
pressures and frustrations during residency. Her classmates are
very close.
‣ Certain exercises, like evidence-based research studies, don't
apply to her because they're related to research rather than
fast-paced work of the emergency room.
‣ She wants to give back to the program by helping to make
its teaching material more relevant and its computer systems
more modern.
‣ The only reason certain practices—like the impractical
trauma hospital teaching archaic methodologies—are
kept in the curriculum is because they attract
students to their notariety.
Specific program exercises and
system software were mentioned
that would improve the overall
experience of the residency
program. Improvements to these,
and other aspects of the program,
would greatly increase the
relevance of the information
learned and makes it more
applicable in real-life situations.