Do faculty and resident physicians discuss their medical errors?
Kaldjian LC, Forman-Hoffman VL, Jones EW, et al. Do faculty and resident physicians discuss their medical errors? J Med Ethics. 2008;34(10):717-22. doi:10.1136/jme.2007.023713.
Physicians who commit medical errors experience significant emotional distress as a result. Such emotions may limit their willingness to disclose errors to patients, especially if physicians do not feel supported by their peers. Conducted at a teaching hospital, this survey provides encouraging results, in that most physicians reported discussing an error with a colleague and most found the experience to be beneficial. In order to provide emotional support for physicians, one hospital has implemented a peer support program for discussion of adverse events. An AHRQ WebM&M commentary discusses the effect an error had on a resident physician.