Name: Doctors make mistakes. Can we talk about that?
Uploaded: 2012-01-25T16:50:19Z
Duration: 19 min 11 s
Description: Every doctor makes mistakes. But, says physician Brian Goldman, medicine's culture of denial (and shame) keeps doctors from ever talking about those mistakes, or using them to learn and improve. Telling stories from his own long practice, he calls on doctors to start talking about being wrong.

Brian Goldman: Doctors make mistakes. Can we talk about that?

Doctors make mistakes. Can we talk about that?

Every doctor makes mistakes. But, says physician Brian Goldman, medicine's culture of denial (and shame) keeps doctors from ever talking about those mistakes, or using them to learn and improve. Telling stories from his own long practice, he calls on doctors to start talking about being wrong.

Mistakes in medicine are inevitable, but silence about them endangers both doctors and patients. Thousands die each year from preventable medical errors, yet the culture still expects perfection and shames those who fall short. Personal stories of mistakes reveal the heavy emotional toll and show that learning from error is essential. Medicine needs open conversations about failure to foster safety and growth.