Learning From Your Mistakes

There is a great deal of repetition in the practice of medicine which, like anything else in life, can lead to a sense of monotony.

• Walking back and forth between examining rooms while listening to people bitch and moan about their somatic complaints exacts a curious toll on a physician's acuity.

• Filling out insurance forms until your eyes start to cross, dictating reports while desperately trying to stay awake -- all of this can dull the excitement of a medical career.

After several years in practice, many doctors become bored with their work and start making careless mistakes.

• Many doctors have become so resistant to criticism that it is hard for them to acknowledge their mistakes and change their behavior.

• If a physician reacts with hostility whenever a mistake is identified (especially if that mistake is brought to his attention by someone who is not a fellow physician), then that doctor is not just insecure. That doctor is a fool.

[Consciousness Raising Exercise #17]

Next: Help Is At Hand

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