ABSTRACT
What happens when something goes wrong at work? Suppose, for example, that you
take a blood sample but forget to label it; or a patient becomes angry and hostile
after being kept waiting; or a colleague is critical of your work; or you are asked to
do something which you feel is out of your sphere of competence? The list is endless
and I suspect many of you reading this will recognise at least one of the examples
given. So what do you do about it when it happens? Mull it over for a while then
forget about it until it happens again? Chat about it over a cup of coffee with a
friend who is on your side and is very reassuring? Or carry on with your busy clinic
and think of it as “one of those things”? Or maybe it stays on your mind for a bit
longer, at least until you get home when it gets pushed to the bottom of the priority
list competing against collecting the children from school or deciding what to cook
for supper. If this is what happens then chances are it wasn’t a very useful learning
experience, and as a result, it is more likely to happen again.
