Admitting Medical Errors Can Help Physicians Learn from Mistakes

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To err is human, says the Institute of Medicine. But, as humans, we sometimes find it difficult to admit mistakes.

Nonetheless, it is important to be honest about errors for a number of reasons. “Admitting mistakes is the first and [an] essential step in learning from them,” said Margaret Plews-Ogan, MD, MS, Bernard B. and Anne L. Brodie Teaching Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Appreciative Practice at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. “Talking about them openly expands that learning to your colleagues.”

James Stankiewicz, MD, professor in the department of otolaryngology head and neck surgery at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago, is well published on the topic of the importance of admitting errors. “If you can’t admit that there are problems with a technique, instrumentation, or packaging, you’re keeping important information from colleagues that might keep them out of trouble,” he said.