Abstract
Most people accept that mistakes will happen, so should we see them as bad? Mistakes provide a valuable opportunity to learn and reflect. Without mistakes life wouldn’t be real. Should we just accept that mistakes are a force for good? If as a society, we reverse the negative culture around mistakes, will we reach a nirvana and dispel the overwhelming pessimism that prevails when things go wrong? Too often mistakes are enshrined in misery, emotional burden and despair. Can we reach a point where it triggers a sense of excitement that there is something to learn, an opportunity to support our colleagues, to collaborate and accept that life is real and full of challenges?
I was very upset to hear that a health care professional decided to leave their profession after being involved a in a serious incident. Why? If we accept that good clinicians make mistakes, it is arguably a significant loss to patients and the NHS when an error has this outcome. How can we better support retention of our workforce in the face of adversity? The heartfelt emotional reaction when errors occur can be painful; the shock and panic of harming a patient with all the consequences can be profound for all concerned, including the patient, the professional, their team and organisation.
Recently NHS Improvement has issued guidance around the reporting of incidents in primary care on the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS). This facilitates Clinical Commissioning Groups to give support to individuals and practices, and to collaborate across the local and national primary care landscape, ensuring that learning is shared across organisational boundaries in the hope of reducing the risk of repeat errors. It requires a significant culture change to encourage individuals and practices to frequently share their incidents. Is one barrier the fear of performance management or further repercussions? Or is our sense of shame so overwhelming?
Supporting individuals who make mistakes is vital to ensure the wellbeing of our hard working and devoted colleagues. Those who make mistakes should hold their heads up high, not just because they tried, but because they recognise that they are human and that life at the coal face is forever challenging.
Susie Moore, a life coach, describes six tangible benefits from mistakes:
They are our best teachers They mean action They make you smarter They are (largely) reversible They make you interesting They create compassion
Only when we see mistakes as good will we fully reap the benefits of learning, collaboration and support.
Keep smiling :-)
