Emergency doctors are striving for excellence. They are committed to quality medical care, diagnosis precision, patient safety, and loyalty. However, medical mistakes are an unavoidable fact of the practice of medicine.
Medical Errors 101
Errors may be classified as serious errors (errors that cause permanent injury or transient but potentially life-threatening harm), minor errors (errors that cause harm that is neither permanent nor potentially life-threatening), and near-miss errors (errors that could have caused harm but did not either by chance or by timely intervention).
Errors may arise at different points in the health care process, from diagnosis to treatment. Many variables might lead to error. Patients factors include cultural differences, low socioeconomic status, numerous comorbidities, and increased interaction with health services.
Fatigue and unnecessary workload can lead to errors for physicians, as well as insufficient support or training. While the patient is disproportionately harmed by the accident, there can be similarly substantial effects on the doctor, the hospital, and community at large, where the resulting damage may be physical, behavioral, emotional, legal, or professional.
The Emotional Effects of Errors
The mental effect of a medical mistake, particularly though there is no lawsuit, maybe extreme, resembling what we find in post-traumatic stress disorder patients. Doctors may become mentally labile, obsess endlessly, have trouble sleeping, lose self-confidence, contemplate leaving medical practice, and experience intense anguish.
The Fallout for Patients
For certain doctors, admission of the mistake and apologizing to the patient is helpful in alleviating guilt and anxiety. However, the reporting of adverse mistakes is advised regardless of the benefit to the doctor. The intention of apologizing is to satisfy the emotional needs of the patient, not to unburden the doctor.
- Admit your fault to the patient or relatives. This is what people expect, and that is likely to reduce the risk of lawsuits. Confession is crucial in learning from our mistakes and proceeding with the healing process. The contrary approach, ignoring or justifying our faults, is harmful not only to the patient but also to ourselves.
- Speak to a trustworthy colleague about the case. Talking to a reliable partner will offer independence and insight. Many doctors can understand as they have walked this difficult mile of medical life. They will listen to you and assure you that you’re competent will be back on track.
- Look for expert advice. If there is litigation, make no assumption, and refer to your attorney wisely. Some doctors are not well acquainted with the legal system and believe that they can maneuver on the basis of their experience and medical expertise. Knowledge and guidance will mitigate confusion and help you take a rational approach.
- Document the mistake and report it to the hospital’s safety committee. s In order to prevent any problems in the patient’s treatment, it is important that the medical mistake is adequately documented and reported. By doing so, it prevents any problems from separate service providers also taking care of the patient.
Reference: https://connection.asco.org/tec/career/when-things-go-wrong-dealing-medical-errors
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/after-apology-coping-and-recovery-after-errors/2011-09
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