To err is human, to apologize is hard (JAMA, July 2021)

Summary

This article, published in JAMA, tells the story of a 6 year-old boy who was initially misdiagnosed, which led to months of agony. Here, his mother, Thalia Margalit Krakower MD, asks that the medical community shift focus from promoting a false sense of perfection to one that embraces humility enough to apologise as essential to the healing process.

"A deep cultural shift is needed in medicine to openly acknowledge and understand that imperfection is part of being human – no one knows everything, makes every diagnosis without delay, answers every patient message, or even delivers an apology just right. It is our humanity that makes us vulnerable to make mistakes and also empowers us to connect and heal."

Read the article in full

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