Dr. Hilfiker's Mistakes

Frankly, the reader being able to read how much of a mess his mind was during operations would have assumed that he would reflect it outwardly, yet he was able to maintain his composure. It can be inferred from the reading that this instilled confidence in the staff of his small hospital. If his behavior had matched his thoughts would his operations and staff turned out differently? It is hard to say but it seems his outward composure did boost the morale of the staff. This is what Dr. Osler was hoping for with the imperturbability portion of aequanimitas. He knew that confidence in the doctor would translate to the staff and the patient. But what about Dr. Bulgakov’s lack of mental calmness and confidence? He seems concerned about the position …show more content…
Hilfiker’s work, Mistakes, we seem to see the answer to this. It is possible to have too much confidence, too much aequanimitas. Dr. Hilfiker runs a small country practice in the United States in the contemporary twentieth century. The focus of his work is on the mistakes he has made as a practicing doctor; the question becomes how did he get there. I found that he seemed overconfident in his diagnosis from the start and when things did not add up to his original diagnosis he continues rolling with it. In an excerpt from Dr. Hilfiker’s Mistakes, discusses his doubts before performing an abortion on a patient whom he thought was miscarrying and just hadn’t expelled the …show more content…
The doctors would attend eight years of schooling in preparation and then try and get as much experience as possible their first-year practicing; Dr. Marsh was in this system in its prime in England. This system resulted in young doctors trying to get in on as many operations as possible; disregarding the chances of success of the operation if they learned from the experience. Dr. Marsh reflects on how he's changed in an excerpt Do No