{"id":2484,"date":"2018-09-04T13:34:29","date_gmt":"2018-09-04T17:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/general-medicine\/?p=2484"},"modified":"2018-09-04T13:34:29","modified_gmt":"2018-09-04T17:34:29","slug":"the-power-of-intellectual-humility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/general-medicine\/index.php\/2018\/09\/the-power-of-intellectual-humility\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Intellectual Humility"},"content":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t ever be afraid to say, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Scott<\/a>

Scott Hippe, MD, is a Chief Resident at Family Residency of Idaho in Boise.<\/p><\/div>\n

Those were parting words from\u00a0one of my\u00a0physician mentors in medical school. I had asked him for wisdom in making the transition to residency. \u201cIn my career, I\u2019ve seen hundreds of physicians who cannot bring themselves to say those words. They are generally the ones who get burnt out. They are the ones that shout at you when you consult them over the phone. They are the ones who leave medicine, one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n

My mentor\u2019s point was to stay intellectually humble. The practical application to clinical medicine is obvious. We\u2019ve all learned about the different types of biases that lead to medical errors and diagnostic misses. As trainees, we have seen physicians who exhibit too much hubris make mistakes.<\/p>\n

I am reminded\u00a0of my mentor\u2019s comments now that July has arrived and a new class of interns has started their training. Their enthusiasm for residency and the pursuit of learning is a breath of fresh air. Along with the enthusiasm has come a multitude of \u201cI don\u2019t knows\u201d:<\/p>\n

\n