Suspending Judgement and Shifting to Authentic Curiosity

By Roberto Colon, MD, chief medical officer, Premier Health

Have you ever made a mistake in clinical practice?

If you are like me, the answer is yes. Perhaps it did not result in harm. Perhaps no one else noticed. But you did. And you certainly did not intend it to happen. None of us enter a patient encounter planning to fall short.

Now think of a time when you witnessed someone else make an error — a colleague, a nurse, a resident. What was your initial reaction? Did you immediately assume lack of focus, effort, or commitment?

When I reflect honestly, I recognize that my first response has not always been my best. I have caught myself forming judgments before fully understanding the circumstances. Yet when I consider my own mistakes, I know they were never rooted in indifference — they were shaped by complexity, workload, and human factors.

So why do we so easily grant ourselves grace but withhold it from others?

What if we suspended judgment and instead assumed good intent? What if we led with curiosity and asked, “Help me understand what happened?”

Curiosity opens dialogue. Judgment shuts it down.

In medicine, psychological safety is essential to patient safety. When we create space for honest conversation about errors, we strengthen our teams and our systems. When we react with blame, we drive learning underground.

The shift is simple but powerful:

• Lead with questions.
• Listen to understand.
• Seek the why before forming conclusions.

By choosing curiosity over judgment, we foster a culture where learning is valued, trust is strengthened, and safer care becomes the shared outcome.

Back to the March 2026 Premier Pulse