Day 26: Record some wrongs

To err is human. Doctoring is human. If we are honest with ourselves, there will always be mistakes we can admit to and things we can do better. We are trained in this. As a trainee surgeon, in particular, I am trained to continually audit my performance. I measure my outcomes, record my complications, scrutinise my results. My logbook is updated daily with surgical numbers, techniques, outcomes and complications. But what about the non-operative aspect of my doctoring. Have I ever measured how many times I’ve been stressed out, rude to nurses, chose the wrong analgesic, arrived late in theatre, not clarified my plans enough to patients, failed to communicate with the GP, wrote illegibly, etc. Take time today to think about the past week, and every moment of the days. Write down the things that could have been done better and how it could have been done better. It may involve technical matters of doctoring, or the non-technical ones.