Embracing Failure: A Novel Workshop for Medical Students
by Ashley Scanlon M.D.; Brian Kwan, M.D. | July 1, 2024
Article Citation: Klasen JM, Germann N, Lutz S, Beck J, Fourie L. Breaking the Silence: A Workshop for Medical Students on Dealing With Failure in Medicine. Acad Med 2023; 98(12):1402-1405. DOI: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000005438
What is this article about?
This article details an elective workshop created at the University of Basel to empower medical students to deal with failure in medicine in a productive manner. Thirty medical students attended this 16-hour workshop facilitated by two attending physicians and a certified life coach. Limited to a virtual format in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic, teaching formats included presentations, journal clubs, and small group discussions. A key teaching strategy was incorporation of reflection exercises; all 3 facilitators shared failure stories and consequences, reflecting on their own fallibility. The workshop also uniquely leveraged the expertise of a life and business coach in teaching strategies for coping with the fear of failure.
Why should you read the article?
Though failure in clinical medicine is both inevitable and a powerful learning tool, it is rarely included as an explicit topic in medical school curricula. The authors argue that medical students should be equipped with the skills to identify, analyze, disclose, reflect on, and learn from medical failures prior to beginning residency. This article provides a framework for incorporating this topic into undergraduate medical education. In post-workshop qualitative evaluation, participants reported a heightened awareness that failure is inescapable but felt more confident in their ability to deal with future failure events constructively. Participants also appreciated the opportunity to talk about failure in a safe environment and expressed the sentiment that all medical learners should have the opportunity to delve into this topic.
How can you use this article?
As undergraduate medical education is continually reshaping itself to better address learner wellbeing, this article highlights medical failure as a topic worthy of inclusion. This article provides a solid starting point for medical educators who are interested in incorporating medical failure into their curricula. Potential opportunities for further expansion on this work include adaptation to in-person or hybrid formats, larger-scale workshops, and more in-depth and longitudinal evaluation of workshop impact. While this workshop uniquely incorporated a life and business coach, the impact of their added perspective was not fully elucidated. Further analysis of this interdisciplinary approach could inform best practices for similar future workshops.
Review Author: Ashley Scanlon, M.D.; Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA (Co-authored with Brian Kwan, M.D.): Organization: Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine