Staying Well in a Sea of Harm

Abstract

Physician psychological wellness is an emergent outcome resulting from dynamic interactions among complex conditions. We may enhance opportunities for physician wellness by applying principles developed to improve another emergent outcome: patient safety. The Safety I approach to patient safety focuses on “what went wrong” and considers humans a liability. Safety II is a powerful complementary approach that focuses on “what went right” and values human creativity. These contrasting perspectives are described in the context of patient safety, but the underlying principles have relevance for physician psychological wellness. We can create conditions that interfere with wellness and conditions that support wellness. We can learn from exploring and reinforcing successes and improving routine processes; together, these approaches may have a greater cumulative positive impact than just addressing problems. In addition to learning from failures, there is much we can learn from success.