Doctors make mistakes. Can we talk about that?

[okarol]

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.
Video on Ted.com:
http://www.ted.com/talks/brian_goldman_doctors_make_mistakes_can_we_talk_about_that.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2012-01-25&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email

[MaryD]

An excellent talk!

My sister is a doctor.  Ever since she graduated I've known that all doctors are fallible - they must be if SHE could become a doctor.  She has discussed mistakes with me, not with shame, but with concern.  She has also spoken, with a quiet satisfaction, of patients who have been from doctor to doctor for months with major symptoms and no satisfactory diagnosis, where she has thought out of the square and come up with the answer.

She is a very good doctor and I am very proud of her

Having a doctor in the family and knowing they are just human has maybe made my approach to my medicos much more laid back.  I question everything

[Rerun]

They never say "I'm sorry" and sometimes that is all I want. 

[Lillupie]

yeah I had a doctor once miss diagnose me for a mental illness and accused me of starving myself. We went back to the hospital and asked to see someone completely different. The second doctor did whatever he could to find the right diagnosis, lupus. THe first doctor found out about it and did not say one word! I dont trust doctors even though so many of them act like they are God.

Lisa

[Brightsky69]

I was in the hospital not too long ago, had some bad pelvic pain (non kidney related) and one of the doctors came in and basically told me that they found some kind of bacteria in my blood....I totally forget the name of what she said they had found. She ran over the course of treatment with me and I had to stop her...I asked "How in the world did i manage to pick that up in my system??" She explained how it could happen. I told her there is no way thats right. She said "your Ms. so in so, right?" I said , no. Turns out she was looking at the wrong chart and walked into the wrong room.   
I told some friends and family what happened and everyone was telling me to SUE the doctor and everyone in the hospital. I said No way, she made a mistake...thats all. I knew she was wrong, plus when she was talking to me she looked and sounded really tired.
When she came back she let me know that my blood work came back fine.
Doctors are human, they don't know everything. I think they are guessing most of the time anyway. 

[billybags]

We have actually had a Neurologist apologize in a letter to us because he told us to stop a heart tablet 3 days before a procedure that resulted in a mild heart attack. My husband was hospitalized for 3 days. What can you say, he apologized and admitted his mistake. He can not do enough for us now.

[thegrammalady]

my ex-husband was diagnosed with ms and spent a year taking expensive medication that he didn't need because he doesn't have ms. diagnoses is nothing but an educated guessing game. many illness have the same or similar symptoms and most tests don't "say" not this but this. that's why you should always take someone with you and ask lots of questions and get a 2nd opinion if necessary. doctors are human too and they do make mistakes, just like everyone else.

[Jyhjones]

Yes, they make mistakes I had a fistula surgery in my left arm. It never had a thrill so I had to have another surgery in the right arm 2months ago and they used the right arm twice and messed it up now I'm waiting for angioplasty and mapping. 

[MrsFishy]

When Dr.'s screw up, I'd be happy with an apology, too, but I don't blame the Dr.'s for NOT doing that.  We, as a lawsuit happy society, have made it to the point where they don't dare say they are sorry or apologize or the person they are offering it to may use it against them as an admission of guilt in court. 

[ARCB]

Suffered to many mistakes to count. Wrong diagnosis, nurse brought me wrong meds, contracted blood poisoning from an IV, wrong iv fluids, the ordering of a blood transfusion when i couldn't receive one, transplant
research nurse just tried to enter me in an experimental drug study until I questioned it with the doc and he told me he didn't think I would be a good candidate for it and these are at the tip of my brain as the list goes on.  Changed doctors numerous times. Learned to question all.

[big777bill]

 This goes to show you how far we as a society have come from being able to be honest with one another. The greatest fear being you will get sued and lose money and reputation. What a tangled web we weave.....   

[Riki]

When I first got sick, my GP didn't really know what was wrong.  I was in to see him so much, because I wasn't feeling well for whatever reason, and no one could explain it.  We didn't know what was going on, let alone that my kidneys had failed.  One day, I had this weird feeling, like my tongue had thickened to a point where it filled my mouth, and I coudln't speak.  My mom took me back to him the next day and I tried my best to explain to him what was going on, but I don't think he could understand it.  I didn't really understand it myself, but then, I was 12 years old. *L*  He diagnosed me with pneumonia and sent me home.  The day after that, was when I went into septic shock.  When I got home from the children's hospital a few months later, he contacted my mother and said that he wanted to speak to both her and me.  He took us into his office, closed the door and apologized profusely for the misdiagnosis.  Since then, he's bent over backwards for me, even though I think he's a bit of a dork who really has a hard time with comprehension. I keep him cuz he does a really good (GUYS LOOK AWAY NOW!!) pap test and pelvic exam.  In and out in less than 5 minutes, no pun intended. *G*