Health care professionals involved in medical errors can be profoundly affected by the event. A qualitative study analyzed interviews from 61 physicians that discussed their responses to significant medical errors. Previous studies have concentrated on the negative effects such as guilt, isolation and dysfunctional relationships. But positive effects, termed post-traumatic growth, can also occur; physicians that demonstrated this growth experienced many of the same milestones:

• They were accepting of the event, and did not deny or ignore it;
• They disclosed and apologized to the patient/family, although this was very difficult;
• After the mistake, they integrated its lessons into their practice, trying to find meaning or new ways of doing things; learning of their own fallibility helped them be more open to changing their practice to improve patient safety.

The final result of all this post-traumatic growth was wisdom, sense of strength, and humility.

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