Elisabeth Poorman: The Point of No Return
Selected Excerpts
“When I saw my mentors make mistakes, I realized that they had very little forgiveness for themselves and for each other. The message was clear: the only way to be a good doctor was to be a perfect doctor.”
“For so many years I had been focused on being perfect, on not making a mistake, that I forgot my true purpose was to listen”
“The thing about hurting somebody is it’s a point of no return.”
Discussion Questions
What does @DrPoorman’s story convey about cultural attitudes towards mistakes in medicine?
@DrPoorman describes her mistake as “a point of no return.” If there’s no going back, how can one then move forward from such an experience?
What does this piece tell us about how we experience, live with, and learn from our mistakes in health care?
Reflections from #MedHumChat
“I think this expectation is fiction in some ways—that there is always a right answer and it’s always within our reach for every situation, every patient, every presentation. We’re trained to think in EBM pyramids and RCTs and science for good reason—but those have no space for values or humanity. Consequently, we see errors based on outcomes, not for how much we respected the patient, which leaves us no grace for ourselves.”—@Ndouthit
“Up until I got to the theater [to tell this story], I wasn't sure I could. I actually reached out on #medtwitter for thoughts and was overwhelmed by the responses. n reading them, I noticed something: a lot of doctors told me not to do it. A handful of nurses too. But patients and patient advocates insisted I should. Because the mistake wasn't the wound. It was the refusal to admit it. When we ask our providers to be superhuman we don't allow for honest connection, for humility, for growth. We allow dysfunction to grow like a crack in the ground beneath us, and then are shocked when it finally caves in and swallows all of us whole.”—@DrPoorman
“There is always grace and humility (willingness to learn) as a point of return.”—@equijada
About this #MedHumChat
“The Point of No Return” was paired with “Progress Notes: Sweater” by Dr. Michael Natter for a #MedHumChat on March 4, 2020 exploring Making Mistakes.
We were honored to be joined by both Dr. Natter (@mike_natter) and Dr. Poorman (@DrPoorman) for this discussion. Dr. Michael Natter is resident physician in internal medicine at NYU Langone and an artist.
About the Author
Dr. Elisabeth Poorman (@DrPoorman) is a primary care physician and author-speaker whose work focuses on medical provider wellness, social justice, and ethical care. Learn more about her here.