It's a very good point you make and many have already made great comments in reply. But as a physician who strives to prevent errors, I will throw in my two cen

It's a very good point you make and many have already made great comments in reply. But as a physician who strives to prevent errors, I will throw in my two cents: The culture is changing. The youngest physicians are working more reasonable hours and spending more time learning about errors in medicine and being collaborative in preventing them. I can personally say that I have seen techs, nurses, medical students and even other physicians prevent a potential error by simply asking a question. Of course, ego can still get in the way... but that's when your tact can help. Something as simple as, "what if we did this instead?" or "did you mean to order this?" can make it easy for a person to admit their mistake and move on. I encourage you to read one of Atul Gawande's books for a very approachable treatment of the topic. This is the emerging culture in Medicine.