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When Healing Hurts: Perfectionism as a Patient Safety Risk in Medicine
1James Cook University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice
|June 15, 2026
Summary
Perfectionism in medicine, often seen as a virtue, can be a patient safety risk. Structural reinforcement of perfectionism contributes to clinician burnout and compromises care quality.
Area of Science:
- Medical Culture and Ethics
- Patient Safety Research
- Organizational Psychology
Background:
- Perfectionism is prevalent in medicine, linked to excellence.
- Structural reinforcement can create patient safety risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- Examine consequences of medical perfectionism.
- Assess if perfectionism-driven burnout is a patient safety concern.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual and interdisciplinary approach.
- Informed by principlism, moral distress, neuroscience, organizational psychology, and patient safety literature.
- Reviewed regulatory developments.
Main Results:
- Maladaptive perfectionism can impair judgment and increase distress.
- Risks are amplified in under-resourced systems.
- Organizational structures exacerbate unsustainable expectations.
Conclusions:
- Perfectionism is a structural issue, not just individual.
- Recalibrate medical excellence towards sustainable competence and safety.
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