"devastating shame" when he realized he had released the carpal tun-
nel when he was supposed to release a trigger finger.
"When I realized my error, it was like the ground fell away from
beneath me," says Dr. Ring. "As if my breath was taken from me."
But Dr. Ring famously wrote about his error in the New England
Journal of Medicine. After that article ran, Dr. Ring went on what he
calls the "wrong procedure world tour," as he was invited to speak
near and far about his story. He entitled the talk: "About My Error" and
snapped the audience to attention with his opening line:
"We're going to do something unusual today. We're going to talk about
my error."
Alton Memorial didn't run from its near miss. They presented a
poster at AORN and worked with us on this month's cover story.
"People are very afraid to show that they're fallible, but we all make
mistakes," says Ms. Campbell. "Let's grow from them. It's such a learn-
ing opportunity. Rather than let it eat at you, get it out so that others
can learn from it. We have to make it better for each patient so it
doesn't happen again."
Yes, we all make mistakes. But few of us are in a hurry to admit
them.
We hope not, but a few typos or misplaced commas might have
snuck into this issue. If you spot one, please let us know so we can
own up to it, talk about it and learn from it.
OSM
Editor's Page
EP
1 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • A P R I L 2 0 1 8
