Every physician deals with bad outcomes. A patient codes, deteriorates, suffers a complication from a treatment you started, ends up in the ICU, or dies. It happens in every specialty and in every practice setting, and almost nobody is formally taught how to handle it. In this episode I break down the actual framework: stabilizing what can still be stabilized, asking for help without letting ego get in the way, telling the patient and family the truth directly and without jargon, doing a real post-mortem on the case, and documenting it properly.
I also get into the part that damages careers quietly, which is what you do with the outcome afterward. There is a difference between taking accurate ownership and endlessly guilting yourself for things you had no control over, and there is a difference between learning a lesson and letting one bad case rewrite how you practice for the next decade. This is for medical students, residents, and practicing physicians who want a rational approach to the worst days of the job.
0:00 Why Every Physician Deals With This
0:59 A Bad Outcome Is Not Always Bad Care
3:42 The Patient In Front Of You Comes First
4:27 Asking For Help And Setting Ego Aside
6:47 Telling The Patient And Family The Truth
8:50 Asking Why It Happened And Documenting It
14:46 Applying The Lesson Without Overcorrecting
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Personal
💌 Website: https://www.thezeja.com
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About Me
I am a physician (M.D.) practicing a mix of hospitalist medicine, and urgent care. I learned a lot in my journey to becoming a physician and about more than just medicine. Follow along as I reflect and teach what I wish I knew, which for the most part, is the stuff you don’t learn in school.
Get In Touch:Happy to chat, reach out via above options.
