Memorial

As a member of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations I have access to the Medical Malpractice Ministry.The ministry is headed by a very kind woman who prays for you and all parties involved with the occurrence. She also puts you on a waiting list for a tape series about "How to Survive Malpractice Suits".

Over the past few years the waiting list for the tapes has been pretty long. It took me three or four weeks to receive the material, such is the demand for it.

The tapes do not let the listener indulge in self-pity; it challenges us to take responsibility for our own actions and to forgive the actions of others against us.

One quote startled me: "For every malpractice suit one receives, he's probably guilty of ten to twelve occurrences that could have led to a suit but didn't". That means I've been guilty of as many as thirty-six instances of malpractice. That's a lot.

To my knowledge I've never committed a Res Ipsa Loquitur, such as removing the wrong body part. We've all had cases where we look back and ask, "Man, what were you thinking?", situations where we made poor judgments, overlooked clinical clues, and the like.

I once missed the diagnosis of acute mesenteric ischemia. Although the patient's presentation was confusing and other doctors were fooled as well, I hold myself to the highest standards of practice. It's not clear the patient would have survived (he probably wouldn't have), but without an accurate diagnosis he had no chance at all.

About a week after the patient's demise I met with the patient's family. I explained about the cause of death, our failure to make the diagnosis prior to death, and my opinion that it may not have made much difference under the circumstances. The family appreciated my candor.

As penance I shut myself in the hospital library for one afternoon, reading everything I could get hold of regarding acute mesenteric ischemia. I resolved that I would never miss another.

Since that time I've seen other presentations of acute mesenteric ischemia, presentations that had baffled every other doctor. I've never again missed the diagnosis. I'm proud of it. But remembering just how I acquired this expertise is always bittersweet, my perpetual memorial to the patient who died that I might develop good judgment.