We have talked about medical errors and their fatal consequences on this blog before. In addition, there have been reports recently that suggest the medical industry isn’t exactly undergoing a seamless transition to new error reporting methods. Given these two factors, and some recent comments by a physician at the Bellevue Hospital Center at New York University, we’re going to touch on the the medical error issue again today.
The physician made an interesting comment about the “toxic culture of perfection” in the medical industry. It may seem on the surface that a “culture of perfection” would be a good thing. However, it becomes “toxic” with the medical industry in the sense that the pressure to be perfect leads to doctors, nurses, surgeons and all medical staff members alike to conceal or hide (or at least have the urge to conceal or hide) their mistakes.
They fear punishment. They fear legal action. They fear how it will impact their career, and the perception is that it will almost certainly be detrimental. This is the “toxic” nature of the medical culture of perfection. Instead of being teaching moments, mistakes are massive burdens that are best swept under the rug. The person who made the mistake then learns very little, if anything at all — and more mistakes are likely down the road.
This is a very serious problem in the medical industry, and it is one that, at least for now, seems to have the industry’s attention. They are trying to get it right, and they are trying to learn from their mistakes — just like anyone should be given the chance to.
Source: FierceHealthcare, “Physician ‘culture of perfection’ keeps medical errors high,” Zack Budryk, Sept. 11, 2014
