Being the 2nd guy dancing and how to have 3Rs: at the right time, at the right place, with the right people

…and the 4th R: doing the right thing together.

My patient safety walk in the summer of 2020 to support #uniteforsafecare

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

~Maya Angelou

Have you ever felt you were at the right place at the right time with the right people (3 R’s)? You are lucky if you have had that experience. I often thought this was coincidental, and this could be. You have heard celebrity stories that he/she was cast by meeting someone important at random places.

However, I have come to realize many can be intentional. And having and feeling 3R is an unforgettable experience. I was lucky enough to have felt this way when I attended Telluride Summer Experience in 2019, with healthcare students from all over the United States, learning about patient safety. Like the quote above, I felt that my existence in the experience was meaningful as some have told me that they would never forget about me at the conference (more on this at another time…). Dr. David Mayer (Dave), a national leader in patient safety and CEO of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF), has been the leader of this beautiful experience for years.

Dave has been my informal mentor since then. I have been naturally following what he has been doing, and he is a natural leader of students. Having the same passion for patient safety, I have supported the cause as an ambassador of the PSMF ever since I attended the planning meeting of PSMF in the following year on the first WHO designated World Patient Safety Day on 9/17/19.