M&M's---More than just your favorite candy.

[surgblumm]

 

M&M's—More Than Just Your Favorite Candy

Robert M. Blumm, PA, DFAAPA, PAC-Emeritus

 

Remember M&Ms from your childhood? They were known as the candy that melts in your mouth, not in your hands. Do you remember M&Ms from your years in PA and NP programs and your more formative years of practice while working in a medical center? They were the Mortality and Morbidity Conferences; they were held at least monthly, and offered the greatest opportunity to assess our care of patients and discover medical errors. This is a much needed conference to voluntarily attend and to place on your calendar as it is better to learn from other professionals' errors than from our own.

 

Medical errors are believed to cause as many as 400,000 deaths annually in the United States. Surgeons, of course, contribute to this number. Surgeons have had, for many decades, a formal, regular exercise aimed, although it has not been so enunciated, at processing medical errors to, or” intending to,” avoid their repetition and simultaneously support the individual making the error. (Excerpted from The Surgeon and the Spirit: A Panoramic View of a Journey in Academic Surgery, by Lloyd. A. Jacobs, M.D.) These conferences are well known in emergency medicine programs, pediatric programs, orthopedic programs, CTS programs, and in many others and are an ideal way to learn beyond your experience.

 

M&M conferences are mandated in virtually all EM residencies as part of the curricula. They share a common purpose: to track and discuss medical errors in an environment where people are not pointing fingers and are not vulnerable. but rather in a manner that facilitates learning, encourages accountability and promotes leadership. I remember a maxim: when you point your finger at one person, four are pointing back at you. Try it! The presentation of these cases is to establish a forum on CQI. Why do I think that every PA and NP should attend an M&M Conference? Look at the function of an M&M program and decide if it is to your liking. It builds trust and cohesion; it provides a cautionary tale; M&M help us to understand human error and to improve quality. We can learn to process regret, consider end-of-life issues and promote critical thinking.

 

How can this help you as an individual? It may help you to prevent the errors that have been discussed at the conference. It may demonstrate how to better formulate a differential diagnosis and develop a better treatment plan. It will demonstrate your vulnerability each time you extend care to a patient. After learning some of these outcomes, we begin to say, ”There but for the grace of God, go I.” And what if that mistake falls on your shoulders? Are you prepared to receive a subpoena and give a deposition and go to court? Do you feel that you can pay for these services? Will you allow your institution to represent you? Will you still be working in that institution 5 years from now, as cases are not limited to 2 ½ years after they occur, but 2 ½ years after discovery. It's for that reason that you should purchase an occurrence personal liability insurance policy, for the contingencies. You may get a lead on which is the best from your national association, your state association, your specialty group or from experienced providers who have seen the value and the many advantages of a policy with CM&F. CM&F is rated as A++(Superior) by A. M. Best, Enjoy the M&M conferences and enjoy the peace of having the best personal liability insurance policy in the United States.