Analysis Of When Doctors Make Mistakes By Atul Gawande

Background: “When Doctor Make Mistakes” is the essay from Gawande’s book Complications. It is mainly about the mistakes that doctor make.

DeFilippo, one of Gawande’s past patients, was a resident of Everett, Massachusetts. DeFilippo was a forty-eight-year-old man who was a limousine driver. In the book, The Checklist Manifesto, Gawande describes DeFilippo’s medical journey from his point of view, almost resulting in death multiple times. While at a community hospital for a hernia and gallstone surgery, DeFilippo began to hemorrhage. The surgeon stopped the bleeding; however, DeFilippo’s liver was damaged. When DeFilippo was transferred to Gawande’s care, DeFilippo had low oxygen, a fever, and shock, resulting in DeFilippo being incoherent. The test showed DeFilippo’s liver and kidneys were failing and he had a high white blood cell count, meaning there could be an infection in

Gawande’s personal experience shows that it is sometimes necessary to lie to patients for the greater good. When Gawande’s son comes to the hospital with a critical heart condition, he is cared for by many doctors but specifically one fellow is there by his side caring for him. Gawande knew full well that the resident needed to train to gain experience: “But I was not torn about the decision. This was my child. Given a choice, I will always choose the best care for him. How can anybody be expected to do

The United States Health Care System currently has a unique quantity of the different types of medical care that the system offers. Regardless of this fact, many issues arise when it comes to assuring high quality care for everyone. Not all is well since the current health care system is a top economic and social problem for Americans (Health Care Problems, 2015). Many issues such as medical errors, quality of care, and other issues can impact the health care organization such as hospitals, clinics, and physicians. One of the issues is medical errors. They occur when a hospital or doctor provide an inappropriate service of care. Medical errors are defined as human errors in health care and reflects the deterioration of the relationship between patients and the health care system. This paper attempts to examine the medical errors and its impact on health care, while recommending changes to company corporate structure, governance, culture, focus, and social responsibility, and recommend reallocation of resources to prevent the issue from repeating in the future (Health Care Problems, 2015).

In the story there was a man named Anthony DeFilippo, Anthony had severe health issues and first started to hemorrhage from surgery for gallstones and hernia. The hospital that Anthony was first brought to couldn’t figure out ways to help him with his issues so he went to a better hospital. The new hospital that he was brought to at first couldn’t figure out the problem. Long story short, the doctors found out that his main problem was liver damage, they found that bile was leaking into his system which caused an infection. So the doctors found a fix, but that fix wasn’t effective because he got sick again. I think Gawande means that even when doctors try everything within there power to help you, it could be harmful to you at the end, because

The doctor is a great example of something not being as it seems. He is the opposite of what most doctors should be like, yet appears like a normal doctor. “ “Have I nothing better to do than cure insect bites for ‘little Indians’? I am a doctor, not a veterinary” “(11). A doctor appears to be nice and kind, but he is

This is correct, not initialing the error is a big do as well. Doctors need to know who is responsible for the mistake.

We like to think of medicine as a vast sea of knowledge, a science of certainty and applied research intended to heal and cure. Patients visit their doctors expecting to be diagnosed, prescribed, and treated. For several patients, this optimistic outlook is in fact the order of things. But, for many others, medicine is an experimental endeavor and very human in nature. Atul Gawande, in his collection of essays entitled Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science, sheds light on this view of medicine as a field of possibilities and dead ends, improvements and failures. In spite of the many changes brought forth by medicine, the evolution of the patient and doctor relationship into one that redefines the role of the

When doctors admit that they made mistakes, it can help prevent the mistake happening again. According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, an apology is a statement given by one has injured another that includes recognition of the error that has occurred, admits fault and takes responsibility, and communicates a sincere sense of regret or remorse for having caused harm. Most doctors don’t like to admit their mistakes because they only feel the need to be apoligitic, but if they admit it the mistake can be prevented. Other doctors can learn from mistakes, so it doesn’t happen to their patients. Some doctors have the idea of “what they don’t know cant hurt them”; according to the US National Library of Medicine

First, doctors are usually considered to be very trustworthy people, especially during the time when this book was written. Doctors were looked up to by people. Even today, we put our lives in doctors’ hands because we trust that they will do their best to take care of us and help us get well. People in general trust their doctors and don’t ever think that they would do something to hurt another person because they have dedicated their lives to helping people, not hurting them. But, like we saw in this book, that trust can sometimes be broken. Because of the trust that people put in doctors, no one would ever suspect they would take on criminal activity. That means, when and if they do, they have a better chance of getting away with it, at least for a longer period of time, because no one would suspect them at first. Just like in this book, Julia was dead for two years before anyone thought it might be Sir Roylott who may have done something to her.

Medical transcription is a critical skill for administrative assistants; there are many rules which must be followed impeccably, making it difficult for beginners to become proficient. It is important to keep in mind, however, that even the most seasoned transcriptionists are prone to making mistakes. To ensure accuracy, it is critical to run through the audio clip and the text document several times; consequently, even the smallest of errors can jeopardize a patient’s health. For example, transcribing the incorrect measurements of a medication or other substance – there is a notable difference between a gram and a kilogram, for instance. Multiple mistakes also display carelessness, a disregard for the well-being of clients, and the reputation

It requires a special kind of person who will work tireless hours serving the needs of others. Nursing is not only a physically demanding job, it is one that requires mental stamina. Nursing is the true grit of the medical field. I do not believe that everyone is cut out to be a nurse, there have been plenty of moments where I have questioned if I have what it takes. What I do know is that I have learned more from experiences than what I could ever hope to have learned from the books I’ve read. I thought that life was something I could control, a set of expectations on how my future would unfold. The greatest mistakes that I have made ended up being the most transforming lessons. It was during the most challenging times that I

Imagine an emergency room on a calm day: the air fluttering with quiet conversations between families and doctors, the constant clacking of the receptionist’s fake nails on the keyboard, and the occasional cry of a baby. Suddenly, sirens start to wail and everything slows down as if time becomes like molasses on a cold winter day. The phrases “incoming trauma” and “GSW (gunshot wound) to the left-upper quadrant” resonate through the air. In a split second, the relaxed ambiance of the quiet emergency room has been interrupted by loud, raucous voices, machines, and clattering gurneys. A young woman, Karly Lance, who is noticeably injured from an involvement in some sort of accident is rushed into the nearest room and the curtains are drawn shut to allow the trauma team the best environment to work on saving this young woman’s life. Despite their best efforts, the trauma team is unable to revive Karly, and the last words spoken echo clearly: “Stop compressions. Time of death: 1521.” At that moment, Karly’s parents emerge from outside the sliding doors that lead into the emergency room and search frantically for their daughter. Finally, an emergency room nurse takes the family aside and explains that despite their best efforts they were unable to save her. The head doctor emerges from the room and sits the family down to offer her condolences and explain to the parents that the medical team discovered that Karly carried an organ donor card in her wallet. As a registered organ

Professor Bearing views her doctors as a sort of factual regurgitation machine, and when speaking of them she says, “I want to know what the doctors mean when they anatomize me.” Dr. Gawande, is anything but a factual regurgitation machine; Like in the film, Gawande refers to doctors as trying to be heroes because of society's pressure to keep people alive. Professor Bearing’s nurse, her real sense of kindness throughout the film, refers to the doctors not caring what their patients have to go through, saying, “It doesn’t matter, as long as you save lives.” This scene relates to Gawande’s novel because as long as doctors are keeping patients alive, they remain the heroes society expects them to

Various factors in the health care system are reported to be contributors to medication errors. This work reviews a case study discussed in 'Hospital Pharmacy' (Smetzer and Cohen, 1998) which provides a clear example of the complex nature of the health care system and the process of medication use and how this interrelates to medication safety and quality. The nurse made the decision to administer the medication by IV. The syringe was labeled IM use only. The administration of the medication by IV would prove to be lethal since the drug is insoluble and obstructs blood flow the lungs needed for transferring oxygen to the individual's airways. The baby after it had died was found to not be in need of the treatment after all.