Saying Sorry

I was particularly struck today by some of the discussions centered around how healthcare providers can begin to make amends for mistakes through open, honest communication with patients, their families, our colleagues, and ourselves. As a rising second year medical student, the past year was focused on learning everything “the right way.” We’ve been trained so far to accumulate a toolkit of basic science information, and to use that to pick the best multiple choice answer to a question. In some ways, I feel like this type of thinking is almost moving me further away from being a compassionate caregiver, capable of owning up to mistakes and admitting when I was wrong.

 

Until today, I haven’t really grappled with the idea that I could make a serious error that could affect (or take) a life. When reviewing exams, wrong answers on questions usually have a relatively simple explanation- the… Continue reading →