How a medical error should be defined and how serious, harm-causing errors usually occur in institutions

Common psychological reactions of health professionals to the commission of a serious harm-causing error that often leads to concealing the error from the harm party

What ethics says about the moral obligation of the health professional(s) whose error has harmed a patient

How rationalization frequently occurs and discourages the disclosure of medical error

How health professionals, especially physicians, develop narcissistic-like behaviors and attitudes that distance themselves from the experience of what it is like to be a patient, and how that “medical narcissism” diminishes their dealing with any kind of clinical situations that threatens their sense of adequacy, competence, and ability

The value of requesting forgiveness in instances where harm-causing error occurs

Recommendations for 1) managing the current malpractice crisis by way of examining tort reform measures,  2) creating a “just culture” in health care facilities regarding the degree of blame and punishment that health professionals who commit errors should experience, and 3) nurturing more empathic, insightful, non-narcissistic, psychologically healthy health professionals

A step-by-step series of recommendations for disclosing medical error

How health professionals might overcome whatever unhealthy narcissism they have developed