The emotional impact of mistakes on family physicians
M. C. Newman
Department of Family Medicine, Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahneman University, Philadelphia, USA.
OBJECTIVE: To explore the emotional impact of the most memorable mistake on
family physicians, the support they needed and received, and their response
to a hypothetical scenario in which a colleague's decision was associated
with a fatal outcome. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Randomly selected members
of a county chapter of a midwestern state academy of family physicians.
DESIGN: Qualitative cross-sectional survey using in-depth interviews
subject to content analysis. METHODS: I audiotaped interviews with each of
the physicians in their offices. Two medical sociologists and I first
independently, and then consensually, categorized the data based on the
frequency with which a word or idea appeared in the text. RESULTS: Thirty
(75 %) of the 40 physicians originally contacted participated in the study.
Twenty-three (77%) of the 30 physicians admitted to making a mistake. The
physicians experienced emotional adversity. Of 27 physicians, 17 (63%)
needed someone to talk to, 13 (48 %) needed to review their case
management, 16 (59%) needed professional reaffirmation, and eight (30%)
needed personal reassurance. Having someone to talk to was the support that
12 (44%) of the 27 physicians valued most. Eighteen (67%) of 27 received
this support from someone other than their peers. Although all subjects
recognized their colleague's pain and need for support in the hypothetical
scenario, only nine (32%) of 28 physicians would have unconditionally
offered support. CONCLUSION: Making mistakes unfavorably affects family
physicians and creates a strong need for support. Family physicians may
benefit from sharing experiences that diminish perfectionism and recognize
mistakes as a natural part of practicing medicine. Further research needs
to address how physicians can be encouraged toward therapeutic
self-disclosure and peer support.
Association of perceived medical errors with resident distress and empathy: a prospective longitudinal study.
West et al.
JAMA 2006;296:1071-1078.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Patient perspectives of patient-provider communication after adverse events
Duclos et al.
Int J Qual Health Care 2005;17:479-486.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Disclosing Harmful Medical Errors to Patients: A Time for Professional Action
Gallagher and Levinson
Arch Intern Med 2005;165:1819-1824.
FULL TEXT
Discussion of Medical Errors in Morbidity and Mortality Conferences
Pierluissi et al.
JAMA 2003;290:2838-2842.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Psychological contribution to the understanding of adverse events in health care
Parker and Lawton
Qual Saf Health Care 2003;12:453-457.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
When Your Favorite Patient Relapses: Physician Grief and Well-Being in the Practice of Oncology
Shanafelt et al.
JCO 2003;21:2616-2619.
FULL TEXT
Patients' and Physicians' Attitudes Regarding the Disclosure of Medical Errors
Gallagher et al.
JAMA 2003;289:1001-1007.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Bioethics for clinicians: 23. Disclosure of medical error
Hebert et al.
CMAJ 2001;164:509-513.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Disclosure and Prevention of Medical Errors
Rosner et al.
Arch Intern Med 2000;160:2089-2092.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Medical error: the second victim
Wu
BMJ 2000;320:726-727.
FULL TEXT
How Do Mistakes Affect Physicians?
Journal Watch Cardiology 1996;1996:18-18.
FULL TEXT
How Do Mistakes Affect Physicians?
Journal Watch Dermatology 1996;1996:13-13.
FULL TEXT
