Reducing errors in emergency surgery.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Patient Safety
• Surgical Practice

Background:

• Healthcare errors are frequent, with adverse events affecting approximately 10% of surgical patients.
• Emergency surgery experiences even higher rates of adverse events.
• Surgical education programs lack formal instruction on surgical error despite its prevalence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review surgical error and introduce a novel classification system.
• To facilitate learning and teaching about surgical error in surgical training.
• To promote a culture of reflection and reporting of surgical errors.

Main Methods:

• Literature review on surgical error and its teaching.
• Development of a classification system through expert consensus.
• Utilizing the Management of Surgical Emergencies course faculty for consensus.

Main Results:

• Surgical errors are classified into commission, omission, and inition (failure of effort/will, unprofessionalism).
• Minimizing error risk involves situational awareness, accurate perception, and continuous reassessment of patient, team, and plan.
• Appropriate response includes rectification, disclosure, reporting, and system-level root cause analysis without blame.

Conclusions:

• A new classification of surgical error enhances understanding of error generation.
• The developed language encourages reflection, reporting, and team-based responses to surgical errors.
• This system aims to improve surgical practice and patient outcomes through structured error management.