 |
|
Striving for Imperfection
Facing Up to Human Error in Medicine
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2004;130:1149-1151.
|
|
| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings. |
|
|
|
INTRODUCTION
All humans make errors.1 All physicians are human. Therefore, all physicians make errors. This Aristotelian syllogism, while simple to understand, contains a wealth of unexplored territory for the medical profession in the 21st century.
Physicians confront error daily. This is hardly unique: every human working on a task confronts the possibility of imperfect performance. But unlike most professions, physicians live with the awareness that when they err, other humans may suffer. This is a concept we grasp intellectually but as long as we genuinely care about our patients will always struggle with emotionally. Every one of us knows we can err and that our errors can cause suffering. But every one of us also knows the natural, human, and incredibly powerful emotional desire to avoid that reality.
Other professions confront "high stakes" decisions daily. An error by an air traffic controller or a nuclear power plant engineer may cause immense . . . [Full Text of this Article]
WHAT IS A MEDICAL ERROR?
ERROR AS A DEVIATION FROM OPTIMAL PRACTICE
DO FAULTY INDIVIDUALS CAUSE ERROR?
A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO ERROR PREVENTION
PREVENTION OF ERROR
CONCLUSIONS
Molly Zirkle, MD;
David W. Roberson, MD
RELATED ARTICLE
Human Error Identification: An Analysis of Myringotomy and Ventilation Tube Insertion
Mary-Louise Montague, Michael S. W. Lee, and S. S. M. Hussain
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2004;130(10):1153-1157.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
|
