EMS Magazine Monthly Insider for July ‘07
Steve Whitehead
Steve opens up in this podcast about a topic that is both a fear and a reality for nearly every EMS provider: making mistakes in medical care. He explains why in his July article he shares his personal errors, and believes that responders have much to gain by openly discussing such a difficult topic.
None of us are immune to mistakes, he says, and while perfection is an admirable goal, we have to accept that mistakes – and hopefully learning from them – are an ongoing and necessary process.
Steve goes on to share some of the ideas presented in his article, “Fallible Medicine: Responding to Errors in Medical Care.” These include the questions, “Why do we make errors? How much is it inevitable, as human beings, and how much can we control and improve?” Steve examines different kinds of EMS errors, such as skills-based errors, knowledge-based errors, and latent errors due to fatigue, etc.
Steve Whitehead is a paramedic/firefighter at the Parker Fire Protection District in Colorado. Click on this podcast to hear his discussion on medical errors, and look for his article in the July issue of EMS Magazine.
EMS Magazine Monthly Preview for July ‘07
Editor Nancy Perry discusses the July issue’s coverage on medical errors and spotlight on EMS research and education.