Gawande starts his essay with a mistake. It was not a grammatical mistake, but one he made while operating on a woman who was a victim of a car crash. In the end it was not a serious mistake, as the patient went home healthy, but it was still a mistake. He then tells of how common errors can be and how they can happen, as well as how often a doctor is sued. He then explains how most hospitals have a meeting called Morbidity and Morality Conference, or M&M, where mistakes are reviewed and discussed for people to learn from. How he felt shame after his mentor talked to him about the mistake. He finishes by telling how mistakes can be reduced but never eliminated due to the fact that doctors are human and in an emergency can make mistakes,
