Dealing with Mistakes

Introduction

Human error is an inevitable aspect of life, and pharmacists are no exception.

• Despite our utmost efforts to provide the highest level of care, medication errors can still occur.

Remember, everyone makes mistakes, and it is how we deal with them that defines us as individuals.

Dealing with Own Feelings

As pharmacists, we understand that our actions have a direct impact on patients' health and well-being.

• Causing harm to our patients is never our intention.

Hence, when a mistake occurs, it is natural to feel a range of emotion, including regret, guilt and fear.

• If necessary, seek support from colleagues or seniors to discuss these incidents.
• However, ultimately, it is important to practice self-forgiveness.

Echoing the wisdom of Tuesdays with Morrie,

“Take any emotion - love for a woman, or grief for a loved one, or what I'm going through, fear and pain from a deadly illness. If you hold back on the emotions - if you don't allow yourself to go all the way through them - you can never get to being detached, you’re too busy being afraid. You're afraid of the pain, you're afraid of the grief. You're afraid of the vulnerability that loving entails.

“But by throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and completely. You know what pain is. You know what love is. You know what grief is. And only then can you say, ‘All right. I have experienced that emotion. I recognize that emotion. Now I need to detach from that emotion for a moment’.”

Morrie stopped and looked me over, perhaps to make sure I was getting this right.

“I know you think this is just about dying,” he said, “but it's like I keep telling you. When you learn how to die, you learn how to live.”

Taking Action

Dwelling on the past will not undo what has happened. Instead, focus on the steps you can take to move forward.

• Inform the multidisciplinary team of the mistake and implement immediate corrective measures.
• Additionally, reflect on what went wrong and engage in discussions on how to prevent similar mistakes from occurring in the future.

Summary

Mistakes, though potentially fatal, are an unavoidable reality of life.

• To minimize the risk of errors, consistently adhere to local policies and procedures.