To quit or not to quit ?

Anonymous asked:    Is it wrong that I consider it cowardly and selfish to quit because you lost a patient due to your own fault (not completely yours as you said).

If you have lost a patient through your mistake the least you could do in their legacy is use this lesson to never make this mistake again and use it to save future patients. I know everyone is human and some people can't deal with it, but by quitting, that patient has quite literally died for nothing

Hello again anon: I think some doctors quit because they truly believe that it would be better for their current and future patients. In order to treat patients, you have to be confident in your own ability, knowledge and skills. Not in an arrogant, overbearing way but you need to believe that you are doing the best for your patient in order to treat them. Some treatments are long and/or painful with potentially life threatening complications.

To subject another human to these things, you have to be convinced that you are doing the best for the patient. If a doctor looses his/her confidence in skills, knowledge and decision making they wouldn't be able to continue doing their job because they believe it would be harming the patient and “do no harm” is central to medical ethics. I hope that helps?

:-) DKB