Are you a perfectionist?

Posted by Susan Kersley at 6/7/2009 7:28 AM BST on bmj.com

Are most doctors perfectionists? Do you agree? Are you driven by wanting to be perfect or a fear of litigation?
Rather than perfect Is it OK to be 'good enough' rather than perfect?
What is the distinction between being 'good enough' and being 'perfect' ?
It just isn't possible, however careful you are, to be 100% perfect all of the time.

Dr. A might not make a decision without consulting a superior, whereas Dr. B doesn't consider all the possible outcomes of his actions and does something without weighing up the possible outcome.

In Medicine you may not be certain of the way things will turn out. You can only consider probabilities. A surgeon will warn a patient of the all the possible complications of an operation. As a doctor you may not be able to predict precisely what will happen to the patient you can only talk of likelihood and possibility. You have to be clear about the outcome the patient and you want and address these issues. This applies to life in general : you cannot be 100% certain of the outcome of a certain action, you can ony look at what might happen and then make a decision based on: evidence, your gut feelings, what people tell you and what you see happening to others in similar circumstances. So be clear about what you want and 'just do it' - you don't have to be perfect!