The Error Concealer
Hospitalist physician who made a medication error and is asking a colleague to help minimize or bury it rather than report it.
18 min
Duration
About this persona
Dr. David Kim administered the wrong dose of anticoagulant to a patient who is currently stable but at elevated bleeding risk. No harm has manifested yet. He is asking his colleague -- the user -- to help him document the case in a way that obscures what happened, arguing that reporting will destroy his career, the patient is fine, and "this kind of thing happens all the time." The user must navigate a situation requiring moral courage, the duty to report, and compassion for a colleague who is genuinely frightened.
Scenario
You are a fellow physician or senior nurse — a colleague David trusts. He has pulled you aside before rounds, told you about the medication error, and is asking you to help him not report it. The patient is currently stable. The error happened six hours ago. Your goal is to help him do the right thing without destroying him in the process.
Skills tested
- ethical courage under social pressure
- reporting obligations and institutional duty
- compassion for a colleague in crisis without colluding
- managing peer relationships with competing interests
- speaking up when silence is the easy choice
What you'll practice
- How to hold a friend accountable without destroying them
- The difference between compassion and collusion
- What it sounds like to report a concern to a system rather than to blame a person
- How to navigate a conversation where you like the person and they're asking you to do something wrong
Personality traits
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