Part I - When Doctors Make Mistakes Summary and Analysis

Gawande devotes a chapter to discussing one common consequence of practice—mistakes. Though perfection is expected and demanded of surgical students, medicine practice by humans will inevitably be subject to human flaws and failure as well.

Gawande describes one situation in which he treats a car crash victim because the two senior surgeons were working with another patient. He details several points that could have changed the outcome, such as the decision not to call the senior surgeon for help, the inability to intubate the patient, and the emergency tracheostomy.

Academic hospitals recognize that mistakes such as the one Gawande experienced, will happen. Most institute a weekly Morbidity and Mortality Conference (M&M)—a mandatory meeting to discuss mistakes and poor patient outcomes. During an M&M...