AVMA podcast series opens a wider discussion on mistakes

AVMA’s My Veterinary Life podcast is putting medical mistakes and near-misses at the center of a new conversation. Its new series, Mistakes Happen, opens with Dr. Jen Brandt, AVMA’s director of member well-being initiatives, who helps set the foundation for discussing error, shame, accountability, and psychological safety in veterinary medicine. The premise is straightforward: mistakes happen, but silence around them can deepen harm for patients, teams, and clinicians. (aavmc.org)

That framing lands in a profession that has been talking more openly about mental health, perfectionism, and workplace culture, but still struggles with how to process errors in real time. Brandt’s broader public commentary has repeatedly connected well-being to systems and culture, not just individual resilience. In recent talks and podcast appearances, she has emphasized self-compassion, the risks of perfectionism, and the importance of psychological safety, meaning teams feel safe asking questions, admitting uncertainty, and speaking up without humiliation or retaliation. (antechdiagnostics.com)

The new series also aligns with practical risk-management guidance already familiar to many veterinarians. AVMA PLIT advises clinicians to contact their carrier quickly when an event could lead to a claim or complaint, and veterinary communication resources drawing on PLIT guidance say pet parents generally want four things after an error: an explanation of what happened, what happens next for their animal, what will be done to prevent recurrence, and a sincere apology. That approach marks a notable shift from older training norms that often treated apology as too legally risky. (avmaplit.com)

Outside commentary in the profession points in the same direction. In Veterinary Practice News, Dr. Greg Bishop argued that handling “surprises” and miscommunication well depends on thinking like equal partners with clients, an approach aimed at preserving trust when things do not go as planned. Other veterinary education and industry resources have similarly pushed against a blame-and-shame model, urging disclosure, reflection, and systems changes rather than isolation and concealment. (academy.royalcanin.com)

There’s also a growing evidence base for treating adverse events as a team issue, not just an individual burden. A recent Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association study found that 86.6% of respondents reported involvement in at least one adverse medical event in the previous 12 months, and nearly 60% reported events causing serious patient harm. The study concluded that well-executed debriefings were associated with psychological safety, work engagement, job fulfillment, and reduced burnout, suggesting that how clinics respond after a mistake may shape both care quality and staff retention. (researchgate.net)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the significance of Mistakes Happen is less about a single podcast episode and more about institutional signaling. When AVMA uses one of its flagship career and well-being platforms to normalize discussion of mistakes, it gives clinicians, students, technicians, and managers more permission to talk about events that are often hidden behind fear, embarrassment, or liability concerns. That matters in a workforce already under strain, where unmanaged shame after an error can feed disengagement, burnout, and turnover. It also matters operationally: clinics that can discuss mistakes clearly and respectfully are better positioned to preserve trust with pet parents, support team members, and identify process failures before they repeat. (merck-animal-health-usa.com)

For practice leaders, the practical takeaway is that culture work and risk management are increasingly overlapping. Disclosure protocols, documentation habits, debrief structures, and communication training are no longer separate from workforce well-being strategy. They’re part of it. The message behind Brandt’s introduction appears to be that veterinary medicine cannot reduce harm, or retain healthy teams, if mistakes remain unspeakable. That’s an inference from AVMA’s broader well-being messaging and the surrounding literature, but it is strongly supported by the profession’s recent direction. (antechdiagnostics.com)

What to watch: The next signal will be whether the series stays at the level of awareness or moves into concrete playbooks, such as how to disclose errors to pet parents, how to run psychologically safe debriefs, and how leaders can separate accountability from blame. If it does, Mistakes Happen could become a useful bridge between well-being programming and day-to-day clinical management. (pressbooks.umn.edu)