What's helping me become a better doctor | Amie Woods | TEDxGeorgeMasonU

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. It is not everyday that you see a live ultrasound examination on a TEDx stage. It is also rare for doctors and patients to thank one another after one saves another's life. Dr. Amie Woods is able to do both; all while telling you about an amazingly inexpensive, and powerful, tool that is beginning to be used by physicians for many areas of diagnostics.

Dr. Woods attended medical school at the University of Rochester, and completed her residency in emergency medicine at Brown University. She subsequently completed the Emergency Ultrasound fellowship at George Washington University. She is Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University and works in the emergency department at Inova Fairfax Hospital. She has taught emergency ultrasound techniques nationally and internationally and enjoys an active teaching role in her everyday clinical practice. Dr. Woods was given the Emergency Medicine award as a graduating medical student, and the GW Emergency Department Teaching Award at the completion of her fellowship in in 2009. In 2012, she welcomed her daughter, Savannah James Woods, and continues her daily quest of achieving a peaceful work/life balance.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

[ayoobewonders]

When your patiant smiles and says "thank you for saving my life", you'd realize that studying medicine was worth it.

[aspiringdoc]

teared up towards the end; I'm on my way to becoming a doctor

[barqadleali]

I do ultrasound every day for living, when I saw her scanning on the Rt side for spleen, I was like oh no dear. But beautiful talk! Thank you saving lives everyday!

[blessedofgod]

I loved your talk despite the spleen liver swap !😊😊 great job

[brayan]

This talk is so inspiring. What a gratifying feeling it is when one receives such strong admiration from patients, as seen in this case. This inspires me even more to dream big and know that even though I am struggling with my grades in school nothing will hinder me from accomplishing what God has planned for me to do

[Ali-tbpy]

I’m a first year med student and this great doctor really motivated me to study hard to become a good doctor and make people’s life much healthier ❤️

[vincentpckwan]

Very touching story. America is a great county because it has a lot of doctors like you treating patients and not diseases.

[al-imammustaphasanusi]

Saving one life means you have saved all the lives on earth.

[HughJack-stzc]

I truly appreciated how Dr. Woods exited her patient at the conclusion. Not always should the patient express gratitude to the doctor. I appreciate how grateful Dr. Woods was to her patient—not for getting sick, but for coming to her and allowing her to teach her while she tried to understand what had happened. It's amazing that the patient survived, was present when Dr. Woods spoke, and was able to thank her and share her experience. It's also excellent that they can use ultrasounds. Dr. Woods couldn't have just shown us how healthy the man was and how healthy his heart is without that ultrasound. It takes more than just possessing the requisite technical and medical knowledge to be a good doctor. It also entails having moral character, showing understanding and compassion for patients, and prioritizing the needs of those being treated.
Develop effective communication skills is a key to become successful doctor. They must be able to interact with patients in a clear and effective manner. Effective communication helps to build trust and a solid doctor-patient relationship. Patients want to be heard and understood. Medical professionals should show compassion and empathy for their patients, who frequently face challenging and stressful circumstances. This entails being sensitive to their emotional needs and demonstrating genuine concern for their well-being.
Doctors should keep up with the most recent advances in medicine and utilize this information to guide their clinical decisions. Patients are given the most suitable and efficient therapies thanks to evidence-based medicine. High ethical standards are expected of medical professionals, hence it is crucial that they uphold these standards in all facets of their work. This involves preserving patient privacy, respecting their autonomy, and steering clear of conflicts of interest. To give their patients the best care possible, doctors should collaborate with other healthcare specialists. This entails being receptive to advice from other experts and prepared to collaborate with others.

[siliasmith]

i love the doctor Woods, actually I'm fascinated with her work, I'm a medical student in Algeria and I will be one of the best doctor in the whole word inchalh 💪💪

[mustaphajaveed]

Wow.. i'm training to become a nurse and when I heard about that huge drop in BP, I figured, maybe she's losing a lot of blood, and I was LOCKED into the video! When she started going into the internal bleeding and the rest of the story i was even more interested... Medicine is so cool I want to pursue an MD after nursing school

[bdictjames]

Thank you for this presentation! I am a nurse practitioner, aspiring to go back to medicine. Much respect for the ER MDs and personnel out there. ^_^

[k_fairy_treasure_adventure]

Omg I really love your channel a lot thank you so much I love it how you go straight on everything

[nickslaboden]

I would like to start this off by saying thank you to Dr Woods for sharing her knowledge and experience with us. It is not an easy task to break ultrasound down into simple understandable terms and she did a great job. Dr. Woods used her story of her trauma patient to illustrate that ultrasound is changing how she practices medicine. Her point is that ultrasound is fast, cheap, effective, and most importantly non-invasive. I think from a patient standpoint we need to start looking into more applications for ultrasound to treat the patient. There are so many cases where an MRI or CT scan are not necessary, and a simple ultrasound would have done just fine. From the patient’s perspective this is the ideal. The distribution of healthcare treatments is no easy task to undertake though. What I am proposing involves a major overhaul to the medical training system. Firstly, there is the research to find said applications which is going to take an unbelievable amount of grant money and time. Research will include at least a three phase clinical trial before being peer reviewed for scientific acceptance. Then comes having to retrain all current physicians on what is possible which will take time at trainings, workshops, conferences etc. Then we look at the medical student level where entire curriculums will have to stay up to date and adjust for the increasing workload of ultrasound training.
It is amazing to me how complicated making change happen truly is. It is easy to say that we need more applications for ultrasound and it makes doctors better. It is just a massive undertaking that will take years and thousands of healthcare professionals to do. I think that it is great that Dr. Wood is finding the amazing applications of ultrasound; and I hope that she can continue to share her knowledge and experience like she already is. I would like to end this by saying thank you to Dr. Woods again. Thank you for reading.

[madieteltow]

I really liked how Dr. Woods brought her patient out at the end. It is not always the patient that should be thanking the doctor. I like how Dr. Woods was thankful of her patient not for getting ill but for coming to her and letting Dr. Woods learn while figuring out what happened to her. It is awesome that that patient lived and was able to thank Dr. Woods and be there while she lectured and told her story. Also, it is really good that they are able to use ultrasounds. Without that ultrasound, Dr. Woods couldn't have just shown us how healthy that man was and how healthy is heart is. It is amazing how technology like that can show us a healthy heart vs a heart that has many problems or something wrong with it. It is great that Dr. Woods was so determined to show that patients story and explain what she has learned from it. She didn't give up when she couldn't figure out what had happened but looked further into it to figure out what had happened to that pregnant woman.

[okotray]

The explanation was so complex and medical.

[Viver]

spleen is left, liver is right. clearly, the liver was being visualized through the u/s. Her presentation was confusing as she did not introduce what is her topic. It might have been implicitly indicated but like what someone said, for laypeople this is totally confusing.

[Viver]

Nonetheless, after watching this whole video, it makes me realize how awesome doctors are even the ones in the lowest totem pole.

[benedictaustard]

Damn this doctor is so beautiful!.
As a patient you can forget your pain and have glance at her!.

[rjmontenegro]

ikr. she referred to her right and then she said spleen. i was like, "wait....what?"

but maybe she was anxious during this time so she kind of made a mistake.