Morbidity & Mortality Conference
Dr. Li Wenliang - First Responder Hero
One of the great traditions of medicine has been the “Morbidity and Mortality” conference. It is practiced in a number of ways within the profession. The underlying belief is that suffering and deaths always have something to teach us - there is always learning to be applied to the care of the living.
Some of the “rules” of the conferences are careful choice of the cases and careful chronologic presentation of the specifics and timing of medical care responses. It must be openly honest to be effective. It is performed by a community. The best outcomes are specific changes applied to the delivery of care in the “next case”. It abhors defensive responses. It is a difficult tradition but at its best it is a healing event.
There is always a key question, “Who is presenting?” That strikes fear into the heart of a resident physician who knows it is not just an academic exercise. In our current situation it seems like that could be anyone of us. We will be judged by how honest we are and what we learn.
So what have we learned so far?
- We are connected by the ubiquity of suffering and death.
- We have servant leaders who respond with creativity and courage.
- Resilience and Resistance are part of the courage response.
- Spiritual health care is a critical ongoing response.
Here is a “senior attending” comment by David Brooks: The Moral Meaning of the Plague. I am sure we will learn more and be able to put names and places on what we are living.
Shalom,
Marvin
References:
South China Morning Post
The morbidity and mortality conference: the delicate nature of learning from error.
Academic Medicine. 77(10):1001-6, 2002 Oct.
To the Point: Integrating Patient Safety Education Into the Obstetrics and Gynecology Undergraduate Curriculum.
Journal of Patient Safety. 16(1):e39-e45, March 2020.
Hage, M. L. (2013). Resistance/Resilience
Hage, M. L. (2012). God’s Grace.
Brooks, D. The Moral Meaning of the Plague
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