Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

What medicine can learn from the Titanic

Rushil Patel
Physician
May 26, 2012
Share
Tweet
Share

April 15th marked the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, yet the mystique surrounding its demise has not faded. When the colossal vessel first collided with the iceberg, eyewitness accounts described an eerie sense of serenity that pervaded the ship. Passenger J.J. Astor even remarked, “We are safer here than in that little boat,” before later drowning.

To prefer drowning over safety strike us as irrational, but this behavior makes sense when we look at the passengers’ point-of-view. To them, the Titanic seemed invincible even after its immediate impact with the iceberg.

Throughout our medical training we build our foundation of knowledge, our clinical reasoning skills, and our role in healing others. Many times, it also entails building our own myth regarding our abilities; it may take a Titanic moment in the form of the inevitable medical error to realize this vulnerability.

In his book Night Shift, medical journalist and emergency room doctor Brian Goldman describes such a moment. A patient presented with what looked to be a kidney stone in one of his emergency shifts. When the kidney x-ray came back normal, his colleague performed a reassessment and noticed tenderness in the right lower quadrant. Another patient presented with diarrhea, and though Goldman ordered fluids, he asked his colleague to reassess. Again, his colleague noted tenderness in the right lower quadrant. Both were diagnosed with appendicitis and referred to the surgeons while Goldman languished. Two misdiagnoses in one night shattered his myth of infallibility.

The support of fellow colleagues can alleviate this sense of self-injury, but ruminating over our failure leaves us helpless to help those facing a similar situation. Daniel Mendelsson writes in the New Yorker that when the Titanic sunk, two ships were in its immediate vicinity; the Carpathia picked up the first distress calls and rushed to the rescue though 58-miles away while the Californian, who avoided the icebergs, sat just 10-miles away ignoring the Titanic’s calls for help. In fact, “No one has ever sufficiently explained why the Californian’s captain, officers, and crew failed to respond to what seemed like obvious signs of distress,” Mendelsson notes, “The second officer merely thought it strange that a ship would be firing rockets at night.”

Unlike the Titanic’s tale, we can avert disaster through one of medicine’s ideals – humility – in accepting the counsel of another. One of my professors once took her residents out for lunch, and in this casual atmosphere, one of the residents ordered a beer. None of the other residents said anything, but my professor told the resident to take the rest of the day off instead of returning to the hospital without giving a reason. The next day, she sat him down and asked about his drinking habits. He indicated he always enjoyed a beer with his meals, and she gently reminded him of how patients might feel of a physician with the smell of alcohol on his breath. Though she realized he was not an alcoholic, she intervened out of recognizing the importance of professionalism, and he too became aware of this principle.

As esteemed members of this community, we each set sail on our careers with our coats and our credentials. Medicine’s expectations can compel us to construct our own myth, but when we do err, our humility enables us to progress past ruminating over the remnants of our legend.

Rushil Patel is a medical student. 

Submit a guest post and be heard on social media’s leading physician voice.

Prev

Are the poor more likely to sue their doctors?

May 26, 2012 Kevin 13
…
Next

How academic press releases are being used for free advertising

May 26, 2012 Kevin 6
…

Tagged as: Emergency Medicine, Hospital-Based Medicine, Malpractice

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Are the poor more likely to sue their doctors?
Next Post >
How academic press releases are being used for free advertising

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Rushil Patel

  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    A medical student, molded by experiences with patients

    Rushil Patel
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Leadership on a medical rotation: The dichotomy of accountability

    Rushil Patel
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Evaluating medical students: Beware misleading first impressions

    Rushil Patel

More in Physician

  • How subjective likability practices undermine Canada’s health workforce recruitment and retention

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • Why judgment is hurting doctors—and how mindfulness can heal

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • Why evidence-based management may be an effective strategy for stronger health care leadership and equity

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • The gift we keep giving: How medicine demands everything—even our holidays

    Tomi Mitchell, MD
  • From burnout to balance: a neurosurgeon’s bold career redesign

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • Why working in Hawai’i health care isn’t all paradise

    Clayton Foster, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Decoding your medical bill: What those charges really mean

      Cheryl Spang | Finance
    • The emotional first responders of aesthetic medicine

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why testosterone matters more than you think in women’s health

      Andrea Caamano, MD | Conditions
    • A mind to guide the machine: Why physicians must help shape artificial intelligence in medicine

      Shanice Spence-Miller, MD | Tech
    • How subjective likability practices undermine Canada’s health workforce recruitment and retention

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Decoding your medical bill: What those charges really mean

      Cheryl Spang | Finance
    • The emotional first responders of aesthetic medicine

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why testosterone matters more than you think in women’s health

      Andrea Caamano, MD | Conditions
    • A mind to guide the machine: Why physicians must help shape artificial intelligence in medicine

      Shanice Spence-Miller, MD | Tech
    • How subjective likability practices undermine Canada’s health workforce recruitment and retention

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

What medicine can learn from the Titanic
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...