Medical Errors During Residency: the Challenge of Ensuring an Appropriate Environment for Postgraduate Medical Training

Abstract

According to data from the World Health Organization in 2021, one in ten people who received health care suffered damage from medical errors and more than three million died from the same cause around the world. Half of these damages occurred mainly in primary care and 80% could have been preventable. In Mexico, the National Medical Arbitration Commission reported that in 2023 the specialties with the highest number of complaints due to medical incidents were: emergencies, orthopedics, dentistry and general surgery. Through the training work carried out by resident doctors, under the supervision of more experienced teaching colleagues, residents are exposed to: long work hours, stress, fatigue and increasing responsibilities, which can trigger lower academic performance, burnout syndrome, depression or other pathologies, in addition to increasing the probability of making errors in clinical practice.