Teaching Medical Students How to Apologize

Doug Wojcieszak lost his brother, Jim, to medical errors, and his family never heard "sorry" from the doctors. This tragedy has led Doug on a mission to teach disclosure and apology to medical professionals around the United States.  Doug founded the advocacy group Sorry Works! (www.sorryworks.net) and has worked with hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare organizations throughout the United States and around the world.  "Sorry" is important for patients and families and also doctors and nurses. "Sorry" is how we begin the healing process and learn from mistakes.

Doug, who holds a MA in Bioethics and MS in Biology, recently conducted a survey study asking American medical schools if they teach disclosure and apology to their students.  Over 100 medical schools responded to the survey, including several schools that claim to do an excellent job teaching disclosure and apology; this work will soon be published in a scholarly journal.  Doug wants to conduct a follow up study to learn more about these medical schools with robust disclosure curriculum and develop recommendations for national, standardized curriculum on disclosure and apology for medical students. Sorry Works! is a 501c3 non-profit patient safety organization...please help us fund this important research.