Rash decisions
6Īs a final example of cognitive error, an attribution error may occur when clinicians are blinded by negative stereotypes that lead them to ignore or minimise the possibility of serious illness.
#RASH DECISIONS SKIN#
Liquid nitrogen, which has a boiling point of –196☌, is undoubtedly uncomfortable when applied to the skin but is extremely effective at treating a variety of skin conditions, as outlined in the article on cryosurgery by Cranwell and Sinclair. 4,5 They emphasise the importance of appropriate technique and the necessity of providing as much information as possible to the pathology service, in order to optimise diagnostic accuracy.Īffective errors occur when the clinician avoids potentially uncomfortable examinations or procedures out of sympathy for the patient. Harvey, Chan and Wood have contributed two excellent articles on skin biopsy in the management of inflammatory and neoplastic skin conditions. Getting the right diagnosis by considering all the possibilities can potentially avoid inappropriate and unnecessary treatment.Īn important part of making the correct diagnosis is obtaining as much relevant information as possible, and an appropriately performed skin biopsy can provide essential information. 2 In their article on rosacea, Maor and Chong 3 provide not only a description of the subtypes of rosacea and their clinical presentations, but also a list of important differential diagnoses that may appear very similar to rosacea or even overlap with the condition. Premature closure is a common error where a diagnosis or decision is made without proper consideration of other possibilities. An example of this would be a doctor who had recently missed a diagnosis of malignant melanoma and, as a result, tends to see melanoma in all pigmented lesions. 1 In other words, the memory of the experience is fresh in the mind and therefore immediately available.
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Studies to identify different types of cognitive errors have created a taxonomy that can be used for categorisation of errors, with the ultimate goal of prevention.Īvailability errors occur when a clinician misjudges the likelihood of a disease because of a recent experience. The systematic analysis of errors is especially developed in fields where the consequence of an error is immediate and life-threatening, such as in medicine. Whether electing to perform a particular investigation, electing to prescribe a medicine, or electing a government official, failure to make the right choice can sometimes result in dire consequences. We all make mistakes, but some mistakes are far more costly than others. One special advantage of the skeptical attitude of mind is that a man is never vexed to find that after all he has been in the wrong.