The ProspectiveDoctor Podcast

Did Disney Just Save Healthcare?

Dr. Erkeda DeRouen talks to Katie Baca-Motes, co-founder of the Scripps Research Digital Trials Center. She is also the senior director for Scripps Research’s strategic initiatives. They talk about the best Walt Disney Imagineering concepts and practices that can be applied to improve medicine and healthcare.

[01:14] Introducing Katie Baca-Motes

[05:03] Walt Disney Imagineering

[07:46] Imagineering in Healthcare

[12:29] Digital Research Opportunities

[15:13] What Would You Change in Healthcare?

Lessons from Walt Disney Imagineers

After graduating from business school, Katie had the opportunity to work at Walt Disney. Being an imagineer entailed behind the scenes work such as producing special effects, conceptualizing rides, or in Katie’s case, researching behavioral economics and consumer behavior.

Drawing on her past experiences as an imagineer, Katie believes there’s a lot of approaches that can be applied to healthcare. One of them was “blue sky thinking” where you are encouraged to think outside the box. For the moment, forget all the realistic constraints in order to come up with innovative solutions. Another thing they did at Disney was that they involved different departments during brainstorming. It was a way to learn and understand multiple perspectives. If clinicians and medical professionals can think big and acknowledge other voices, then healthcare would be much better off.

Caring for and Empowering Patients

Katie also believes that taking inspiration from Disney’s naming convention can help improve healthcare. At Disney, customers are called “guests”, which already shifts the way its staff members treat them. Staff members are not just crew personnel, their title motivates them to create the best experience possible for guests. Similarly, if we can give empowering labels and put patients at the center of care, then we can provide the best care possible.

You can reach Katie Baca-Motes through her Twitter and Linkedin. Visit the Scripps Research Digital Trial Center website to learn more about their studies and opportunities.

You can watch Dr. Erkeda DeRouen’s talk about Disney and Healthcare on the TEDx YouTube.

To learn more about how MedSchoolCoach can help you along your medical school journey, visit us at Prospective Doctor. You can also reach us through our social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MedSchoolCoach

Dr. Erkeda’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctordgram/

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ProspectiveDoctor

Erkeda DeRouen

Dr. Erkeda DeRouen is a graduate of Hampton University with a B.S. in Biological Sciences, followed by completing medical school at the Boston University School of Medicine. She then completed residency at The University of Maryland Family and Community Medicine Program. After that, she worked at an underserved community health center, and currently is an Associate Medical Director of a telemedicine company. She recently became one of the first 1,000 lifestyle medicine certified physicians in the world! Her areas of interest include: health equity and eliminating health disparities, service of underserved populations, HIV management, transgender care, mentorship, and lifestyle medicine.

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