Facing up to our failures

As Medics we cannot deny that we are used to doing a good job, to being Excellent.  At the end of a day at work it’s a great feeling to reflect and say;

“I got that weird diagnosis”  “I kept a cool head during that difficult intubation”  “That family were so thankful for the time I spent explaining their relatives prognosis to them”

If you’re anything like me though, your mind may be reeling with the things you could have done better as you trot to your car desperately trying to get to nursery on time while de-mining the trenches of your mind.

“Could I have done that better?”  “What if that patient doesn’t have A but they have B and I’ve given them X which would kill them if they have B!!!”

We are Medics to help people, to feel the satisfaction of doing a good job and making our patients better, pain free and rehabilitating them back to an acceptable quality of life.  The nature of our Profession means though, that sometimes we won’t be able to do that and occasionally we will make mistakes which may cause harm.

How do we deal with this?  How do you cope with making an error and potentially causing harm when you are endeavouring to do good?  How do you leave these worries at work and return home to enjoy your family, concentrate on all the other important aspects of your life?

As Parents to small children, you could argue that we are more at risk of making a “Human Error”.  An ill child at home leading to poor sleep, guilt about sending said child to nursery, deadlines for audit posters, ARCPs, job applications, christmas plans, family politics can all whirl around our heads while we are trying to concentrate on the moment- The moment where we are performing a technical procedure, breaking bad news, working out a complex drug prescription.

You will all have heard of the swiss cheese model, the holes align to cause an incident.  We must be aware that on certain days, our Emmental may have a lot more holes than on others.

If we can recognise our own ability to fail and communicate this to our team, we are immediately taking steps to prevent errors and harm.

It is so easy to beat oneself up for imperfection, I have a feeling that Parenthood is going to be a minefield of worries, errors and imperfections.  So I’ve decided to tackle my fear of failure.

Mindfulness is becoming a prominent feature in the media at the moment, a form of meditation which entails living in the moment and not worrying about the future.  It’s essence is in letting go of your pre-occupations and full-heartedly embracing the present moment.

It’s not a surprise then that there are lots of courses in Mindfulness available, aimed at Medical Professionals, as well as evidence for it’s benefits.   The trouble is, a  Mindfulness Seminar may be another burden- in time and money.  An alternative is to find an App to help teach you mindfulness.  Many Apps are available which start off at only needing ten minutes of your time a day.  Headspace is a popular and highly acclaimed app which offers a free trial.

Parenthood in itself is full of worries and I’m sure the future will hold many anxieties and imperfections.  Juggling the physicality’s of Family and work life are exhausting enough but, as we progress in our careers to higher ranks of responsibility, our children’s lives will become more complex and anxieties will multiply.

A strategy for maintaining a healthy mind through this adversity is going to be essential to ensuring we can enjoy work and family life and not let worries from either sector encroach on our performance in the other!

So tomorrow morning, when I walk out from my night shift I am going to tell myself 3 good things that I did and banish the negative!

How do you manage your anxieties?  I would love to hear xxx