"It's not our ass": medical resident sense-making regarding lawsuits

This study examined the accounts of 27 medical residents regarding how they make sense of their feelings about medical malpractice lawsuits and communication strategies to deal with mistakes. The study uncovered 4 distinct ways residents discursively constructed lawsuits--as inevitable, as recourse, as the result of unrealistic expectations, and as a gamble--and the implications of each construction. Further, the analysis suggests that it is essential to understand the role of the medical hierarchy and the resident-attending physician relationship to understand how residents make sense of their feelings toward lawsuits and strategies used to handle mistakes and the threat of lawsuits. The article concludes with implications for people supervising medical residents and for risk managers.