Poor Judgment, Lack of Teamwork, Insufficient Skills Cause Most Trainee Medical Errors: New Study
Among the 240 trainee malpractice cases reviewed by researchers, 72% involved errors in medical judgment, 70% involved teamwork breakdowns, and 58% involved a lack of technical competence. Errors made by trainees were also likely to be particularly complicated, while those made by more experienced doctors were likely to be less complex in nature.
The authors of the study note that a lack of competent supervision clearly contributes to the likelihood that a young physician will make a serious mistake, and they recommend that graduate medical education reform should address this shortcoming in current medical training.
Previously on the DC Metro Area Medical Malpractice Law Blog, we have posted articles related to:
- A study showing that long workdays make young doctors unsafe
- A study demonstrating that most doctors don't report medical errors
- Evidence that young surgeons don't report needle stick injuries
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