The Importance of Mistakes

In this recent TED presentation, Dr. Brian Goldman discusses how hiding mistakes makes the medical profession worse.

Hiding from our mistakes means we cannot address their underlying causes, and means we cannot collect evidence on which to make decisions; decisions that can lead to improved processes and performance. If we are going to create Evidence Based Decision Making Cultures, we need to stop hiding from our mistakes.

Personally, I think it is a sign of confidence and maturity when a professional is prepared to discuss mistakes. It also leads me to trust that individual more, since I am then confident that they will address any mistakes they make in the future. I'm glad to see Doctors are starting to agree:

And I'd like to be able to say to you that my worst mistakes only happened in the first five years of practice as many of my colleagues say, which is total B.S. (Laughter) Some of my doozies have been in the last five years. Alone, ashamed and unsupported. Here's the problem: If I can't come cleanand talk about my mistakes, if I can't find the still-small voice that tells me what really happened, how can I share it with my colleagues? How can I teach them about what I did so that they don't do the same thing? If I were to walk into a room -- like right now, I have no idea what you think of me.

— Brian Goldman