Residency

Talking about medical errors

Residency Program Connection, October 14, 2008

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Although owning up to a mistake can be difficult, most faculty members and residents do discuss patient care errors with colleagues, according to a new study.

Of the general practice physicians that were surveyed, three out of four physicians is willing to share their mistakes with colleagues; only one in four is not .. Nearly nine of 10 said their colleagues would be supportive listeners if they did want to discuss an error.

These findings underscore the importance of viewing all errors—big and small—as learning opportunities for physicians who commit errors and their peers, said Lauris Kaldjian, MD, PhD, study author and associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in a press release.

“Discussing medical errors can be a form of professional learning for doctors. Mistakes should be considered shared commodities and used for all they’re worth,” Kaldjian said.

Fifty-seven percent of the surveyed physicians indicated they have discussed their own mistakes with students or residents to show the benefits of sharing errors with colleagues and use them as learning opportunities.



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