A patient under our care dies unexpectedly. Another of our patients develops a rare and life-threatening allergic reaction. Another patient commits suicide three months after we last saw them. All are traumatic and tragic events. If we are in any way sensitive to the relationship we have with our patients, such events have a deep… Read More »How We Can Help Ourselves After a Bad Event
The authors of an article in Academic Medicine (Wisdom in Medicine by Plews-Ogan et al., [PMID 26352764]) suggest that “wisdom”, partially defined as comprehending “the deeper meaning of the interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects of life, [tolerating] ambiguity and uncertainty as well as [understanding] the limits of his or her knowledge,” is not only a wished-for… Read More »Can Wisdom Follow a Medical Error?
The number of medical malpractice claims has decreased in recent years but the severity of claims is up, according to the PIAA. The PIAA’s findings come from its Data Sharing Project (DSP), the largest ongoing independent collaborative database of medical professional liability (MPL) claims and lawsuits. An excellent malpractice litigation support resource for physicians, the… Read More »PIAA on Malpractice Litigation Trends: Claims Down, Severity Up
Like combat-hardened military veterans, physicians don’t often talk about the ones they lost. When they do, listening to them provides an illuminating window on what it means to be a doctor. Scott Eggener, an Associate Professor of Surgery and Co-Director of the Prostate Cancer Program at the University of Chicago, bravely discusses his own experience… Read More »Learning to Listen to Our Grief When the Worst Happens