One of the scariest things about the medical field is that we have someone’s life in our hands. All doctors take an oath to “do no harm”, however, sometimes patients do get hurt.
Nothing is harder for physicians than an unforeseen, sad patient outcome and a medical malpractice lawsuit. I’ve learned the hard way that this experience is big and packed with emotion.
You may experience a periodic flight-or-flight response, lose sleep, or question your own competence. And these thoughts and emotions may linger for a long time.
This is not your average marathon, though. You didn’t volunteer to run it, and nobody can tell you at the outset exactly how many miles you’ll have to go.