When we make mistakes that affect patients, we must focus on the patient and their family. Their pain, discomfort, or broken trust must take priority over our bruised egos. It is not any patient’s job to reassure us or put us back together when we are disappointed in ourselves. In moments of failure, we must lean on our support systems and call upon the muscles of grit and self-compassion that we have strengthened from past failures. We must give ourselves time, space, and energy to lick our wounds — but not at any of our patients’ expense.
It’s hard to imagine my well-spoken, wildly accomplished classmates feeling even a modicum of insecurity. Some of my classmates might think likewise of me, but the truth is quite the contrary.