In Memory of the Caregivers

[Hrothbern]

There are other tradeoffs - mistakes are made in handovers too.

ok
Especially more prone for mistakes at ER I guess

EDIT
Still
that can to some extent be covered by adequate naps in between, special rooms for that (dark, no-noise, a bit colder)
But perhaps that is already in place.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Okay, I know I'm going to be called a heartless jerk for this, but I have to call this particular excerpt from the article out:



Yeah, they should be shamed. A lot of medical malpractice results in severe disabilities, injuries, or disfigurement and may even lead to an untimely death. If you ruin someone's life, even unintentionally, it only seems fair that you have your life ruined as well. You don't just get to harm someone that severely, say "my bad" and move on with your life.

Look, I get what the article is saying, humans make mistakes and nobody's perfect. I agree with that. The problem with applying that thinking to doctors though is that they are in a profession where lives are on the line, which means mistakes are absolutely unacceptable.

I won't call you a heartless jerk, but I will suggest that you consider the consequences of a general acceptance of your position.

Let's start with ten doctors, probably overworked. One makes a mistake so we ruin his life.

Now we have nine, and they are even more overworked. Another makes a mistake so we ruin his life. Crap, we better get on the stick looking for more people who want to be doctors for whatever brief mistake free period they can successfully pull off.

I'm sure you see where this is going. Severe punitive actions against the few who do for the nominal satisfaction of the vast majority who just watch is always a bad idea.