Physician Error, Patient Suffering, and (Costly) Grace
Landon Sayler, Loma Linda University
In current medical practice, the perception of the need for physicians to be free from error has resulted in a climate where physicians recognize that to err is human, but they feel constrained to live up to their Hippocratic oath and “to do no harm.” The pervasive culture is one of perfectionism. This can have significant implications when physician error occurs, especially when patients are knowingly harmed as a result. Medical practitioners may feel an extreme
sense of failure and be treated very inhumanly as a result of their errors. Many medical professionals have been known to suffer significant psychological, physical, and spiritual trauma as a result of errors they have made. This environment contributes to physician anxiety,
burnout, and in some cases suicide.
There are multiple approaches in place to help physicians cope with error that results in patient suffering, but the concept of grace is not a part of these models. It is the hope that through this paper we will be able to explore the benefit of recognizing that grace may have a place within current medical practice of helping physicians to better navigate the inevitable consequences of their human limitations.
The intent of this paper is to explore the Christian teaching of grace, arguing that a robust understanding of grace from a Christian perspective may assist physicians in better coping with patient suffering that results due to his/her error.
The term grace as it is known in the Christian tradition has many different expressions and applications. Because of these varied understandings, this paper will initially work on developing a concise definition as to how the term grace will be used throughout this paper. The paper will then explore the role that the Christian understanding of grace had in helping individuals cope with personal failure and shortcomings by examining some historical examples. I will then explore the potential relevance of this topic present in the present medical context where standards and stakes are high, and the failure to meet them, inevitable.
One concern about this possibility is that an appeal to grace would become an excuse for the lowering of standards or the practice of sloppy medicine. I plan to address such concerns by drawing on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s distinction between “cheap” and “costly” grace.
sense of failure and be treated very inhumanly as a result of their errors. Many medical professionals have been known to suffer significant psychological, physical, and spiritual trauma as a result of errors they have made. This environment contributes to physician anxiety,
burnout, and in some cases suicide.
There are multiple approaches in place to help physicians cope with error that results in patient suffering, but the concept of grace is not a part of these models. It is the hope that through this paper we will be able to explore the benefit of recognizing that grace may have a place within current medical practice of helping physicians to better navigate the inevitable consequences of their human limitations.
The intent of this paper is to explore the Christian teaching of grace, arguing that a robust understanding of grace from a Christian perspective may assist physicians in better coping with patient suffering that results due to his/her error.
The term grace as it is known in the Christian tradition has many different expressions and applications. Because of these varied understandings, this paper will initially work on developing a concise definition as to how the term grace will be used throughout this paper. The paper will then explore the role that the Christian understanding of grace had in helping individuals cope with personal failure and shortcomings by examining some historical examples. I will then explore the potential relevance of this topic present in the present medical context where standards and stakes are high, and the failure to meet them, inevitable.
One concern about this possibility is that an appeal to grace would become an excuse for the lowering of standards or the practice of sloppy medicine. I plan to address such concerns by drawing on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s distinction between “cheap” and “costly” grace.