Reducing surgeon error through education

When people in New York seek medical attention, they are relying on the expertise of their physician to evaluate, diagnose and treat their illnesses properly. Unfortunately, when a doctor makes mistakes, the effects can be devastating. This may be particularly true for surgeons, who often treat patients who are at their most vulnerable. A careless surgeon can easily commit a fatal surgical error or cause serious injury and organ damage.

For this reason, some medical educators, including a group from the University of Aberdeen that has recently published a book on the subject, are recognizing the importance of training surgeons in skills that go beyond the technical. While a surgeon may have the necessary skills to open a patient up and address internal issues, there are other factors that make a surgeon competent. These include good decision-making, working well as part of a team and demonstrating leadership in and out of the operating room.

Surgeons who are lacking in these skills may be a danger to their patients. Some patients may leave the operating room in a worsened condition than when they entered. Other problems include wrong-site surgery, surgical equipment left inside the patient and pre-operative care errors.

People who believe that they were injured due to a surgical mistake may wish to speak with an experienced medical malpractice attorney. The same is true for family members of someone who died or became disabled as a result of faulty surgical performance. Legal counsel can review the patient's hospital records and obtain the opinions of medical experts in order to determine whether a lawsuit should be brought against the surgeon and the health care facility where the procedure took place seeking appropriate damages.