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.
What a wonderful interview! We can all learn so much from this young mans insight into our own human fallibilities.
Nice job! I was just developing a CRM/Medical Error lecture when I came across your podcast. I’m looking for the July issue now to glean more information. Thanks
This is a great program that every new medic should be required to listen to. It always seems that when a chart is pulled for peer-review the first thing they do is to get defensive. We must review and regulate our own, less some government agency will do it for us.
Very insightful commentary from an experienced Paramedic. There is an old adage, “Those who do not learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them.” This wisdom applies to the provision of healthcare, as well. I appreciate Steve’s remarks and hope that it creates enough “discomfort” in every healthcare practitioner to engender honest, humble self-evaluation and a personal recommitment to professional development and competency review.
i AM REPONDING TO YOUR RECENT POST. i AM CURRENTLY TRYING TO GET IN TO BE A EMT/PARAMEDIC. i AM REALLY HARD ON MYSELF WHEN IT COMES TO MISTAKES. i TRY TO REMIND MY SELF THAT WE ARE HUMAN.BUT WHERE IS THE LINE?
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