How to Succeed at Failing, Part 2: Life and Death (Update)
May 14, 2025
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Join organizational psychologist Amy Edmondson, who tackles the science of failing well, and Carole Hemmelgarn, a patient safety advocate, as they discuss the catastrophic consequences of medical errors and the urgent need for transparency in healthcare. MIT's Robert Langer shares insights from biomedical research, illustrating how failures can lead to breakthroughs like COVID vaccine development. Through personal anecdotes, they emphasize viewing failures as learning opportunities, advocating for resilience and accountability in medical practices.
Carol Hemmelgarn's narrative on her daughter's tragic medical errors underscores the critical need for transparency and patient-centered care in healthcare systems.
The accountability of healthcare workers like nurse Redonda Vaught highlights how systemic issues can be obscured by blaming individuals for medical failures.
Embracing a culture that views failure as a learning opportunity encourages innovation and improvement within scientific and healthcare environments.
Deep dives
Tragic Medical Failure and Its Consequences
The personal account of Carol Hemmelgarn reveals the severe impact of medical failures. Her nine-year-old daughter, Alyssa, was diagnosed with leukemia and tragically died within ten days due to a series of medical errors, including a hospital-acquired infection. This situation was exacerbated by the healthcare providers labeling her as anxious, which prevented them from accurately diagnosing and treating her actual condition. Hemmelgarn emphasizes the need for transparency in healthcare to prevent other families from experiencing similar tragedies, highlighting the importance of listening to patients and their families.
Systemic Issues in Healthcare and Accountability
Hemmelgarn advocates that the healthcare system often fails due to systemic issues rather than just individual errors. The case of nurse Redonda Vaught, who was prosecuted after mistakenly administering the wrong medication to a patient, illustrates how frontline workers are held accountable for systemic failures. Hemmelgarn argues that this approach promotes silence and fear among healthcare workers, which ultimately hinders the identification and correction of systemic problems. She stresses that accountability should focus more on addressing the root causes of errors instead of placing blame on individual practitioners.
The Spectrum of Causes of Failure
Amy Edmondson introduces a spectrum of causes of failure that ranges from sabotage to praiseworthy experimentation. This framework helps delineate different types of failures, suggesting that many failures result from systemic issues rather than individual fault. By categorizing failures, organizations can better understand their root causes and implement appropriate strategies for improvement. This approach encourages a culture of learning rather than one focused solely on blame, allowing for more effective responses to mistakes.
Importance of Learning from Failure
The discussion emphasizes the vital role that learning from failures plays in innovation and improvement within organizations. Scientists and healthcare professionals are encouraged to embrace failure as part of the learning process, viewing it as an opportunity for growth. Bob Langer, a prominent researcher, shares personal experiences of facing numerous failures in his career, which ultimately led to significant advancements in drug delivery systems. His persistence underscores the value of experimentation and the understanding that failures can lead to breakthroughs when addressed constructively.
Cultural Attitudes Toward Failure and Its Implications
The podcast explores cultural perceptions of failure, particularly in scientific and healthcare settings. It suggests that the stigma surrounding failure can hinder innovation and learning, as individuals may avoid taking risks due to fear of repercussions. Creating an environment that accepts failure as a natural part of the process is essential for fostering creativity and progress. By addressing and discussing failures openly, organizations can cultivate a culture that embraces learning, ultimately leading to safer and more effective practices in healthcare.
In medicine, failure can be catastrophic. It can also produce discoveries that save millions of lives. Tales from the front line, the lab, and the I.T. department.
SOURCES:
Amy Edmondson, professor of leadership management at Harvard Business School.
Carole Hemmelgarn, co-founder of Patients for Patient Safety U.S. and director of the Clinical Quality, Safety & Leadership Master’s program at Georgetown University.
Gary Klein, cognitive psychologist and pioneer in the field of naturalistic decision making.
Robert Langer, institute professor and head of the Langer Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
John Van Reenen, professor at the London School of Economics.
