How Can We Save The Next Victim?
Clearly, 'How Can We Save the Next Victim?' (By Lisa Belkin, June 15) needed to be written. It is an excellent analysis of all the factors that contribute to a medical horror. I would like to emphasize one more that ought not be disregarded. It is based on my own experiences as an emergency physician: namely, the importance of self-confidence combined with a willingness to confront and challenge those in so-called higher authority in any matter of doubt concerning the best treatment of a patient.
Both as a resident and as an attending, I have challenged the decisions of anesthesiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, general surgeons, radiologists and anyone else I believed erred to the detriment of a patient.
So far I have made the right decisions. I know the odds are that a day may come when I may err. I have two hopes: that the error will not be catastrophic, and that a nurse, resident, pharmacist, orderly, dietitian or any other colleague will notice it and will unhesitatingly indicate it to me for the benefit of the patient.
Robert H. Meyer, M.D.  Bronx
Assistant Professor  Albert Einstein College of Medicine