Friday Night at the ER

Recently, I had a chance to take part in a team building seminar with my host site through NEPA AHEC. At this event my host site, Volunteers in Medicine, was able to learn more about how we function as a team and ways we could improve through a team building game. The seminar was conducted through a board game called “Friday Night at the ER” where we were split into teams of four, and each person on a team was responsible for being the head of their respective departments. 

Simulating a twelve hour shift from 12 noon on Friday to 11am on Saturday, each team was tasked with intaking and exiting patients in their “hospitals” and navigating a complicated hospital system with transfers, wait times, patient surges, resource constraints, and the occasional “event” which but up even more barriers to getting through the shift. It was an experience that showed how each team worked together and reflected how each choice department heads made, impacted the quality of care and contributed to expenses and over all finances of the "hospital." It was definitely a fun, interesting way to see how a hospital system works in a very simplified way. It forced me to think about a bigger picture instead of what is right in front of me and how my actions and the actions of others may influence the system at large. 

At the end of the game, NEPA AHEC led us through a discussion reflecting on the experience, how everyone worked as a team and how we faced problems. Overall, it was a fun way to explore topics like systems thinking, resource management, communication and teamwork within healthcare. From this experience I will take away the importance of open communication and collaboration when working in healthcare. While it can be easy to think about and prioritize what is right in front of you, it is always important to consider how your actions or others may impact the system at large. Communication can be an easy way to bridge gaps, find solutions, and figure out how to make a system run smoother.