March 13, 2024

Ben's doing an Internships at swiss hospitals

🏥 Building products for hospitals is hard. And it’s so easy to fall back on assumptions and what we think a hospital needs. Companies run the risk of developing a great product that ends up not being used. Either because it doesn’t fully address the problem or ignores the broader context. I can’t think of any industry where this is more pronounced.

📓So over the last six weeks, I (and my booklet of notes) had the pleasure of spending 2.5 weeks of internships at University Hospital Basel, Stadtspital Zürich (Triemli & Waid) and Hirslanden Klinik. It was an extraordinary experience, and what I have witnessed explains the numbers I have been reading. I know that delirium increases mortality. I’ve read it many times. But now, I’ve seen why. I know that, on average, delirium increases length of stay by three days – what was a theoretical number before now makes undeniable sense. And maybe more importantly, I know that delirium needs better solutions.

So for all this, I am enormously grateful. Special thanks to those who made it possible: Luzius Steiner, Kevin Seiler, Sandra Haubner and Martin Zozman. And thanks also to many more who made the experience unforgettable. 🙏

(although saying all that I have to say that I’m very much looking forward to no longer getting up at 5 am 😉)