How to respond after a practice mistake or near miss

Before you start

• Know how to reach the clinician in charge and your employer's incident reporting system.
• Keep clinical documentation factual and separate from private reflection or an incident report.

Step by step

1. 1

   Put safety first

   Get the appropriate clinician or emergency response involved immediately and follow directions within your role. Be direct about what happened and what is known.

2. 2

   Report through approved channels

   Notify the required people and complete the employer's clinical and incident documentation. Do not alter records, speculate, blame or copy patient information into personal notes.

3. 3

   Follow the disclosure process

   Reporting internally and disclosing to a patient are different processes. Ask who is responsible and follow policy rather than improvising a conversation about cause, fault or outcome.

4. 4

   Get support and learn

   Ask for a timely debrief, a clear explanation of next steps and psychological support. When ready, examine individual and system contributors and choose one concrete learning action.

Checklist

Request for post-incident support

Hi [name],

I reported a [mistake / near miss] through [approved channel] on [date]. Immediate safety steps and required notifications were completed.

I would like a timely debrief covering: the next review steps, who manages disclosure, available peer or psychological support, and one supervised learning action. Please let me know when we can meet and whether I should obtain independent union, regulatory or legal guidance.

Trusted resources

Requirements change by jurisdiction and employer. Confirm current details with your regulator, school or workplace before paying or applying.