Case Study: Four Fatal Errors Equal One Lesson Learnt?

Abstract

When Nick Rushby (the Guest Editor of this issue) wrote to me, and invited me to contribute to an issue about learning from mistakes, I wasn't sure if it was a compliment or a realistic reaction to my ‘track‐record’ I readily admit that I have dropped enough educational ‘bricks’ in my career to build a small educational department Nevertheless I felt I should restrict myself to four examples

My four personal case studies will appear, on first inspection, to convey conflicting messages But I believe that the single, final message is the real lesson to be learned from this agglomeration of errors For that reason I will only describe my case studies briefly, and then concentrate on their overall implications The detail of what I did, or did not, do, I will omit