Minimizing Mistakes in Veterinary Surgery
- Tim Keohane
- Dec 2, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 3, 2025
Checklists reduce stress and mistakes. In medical settings, human errors, particularly in surgery and veterinary care, can have severe consequences. Implementing checklists, like the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist, and fostering a Patient Safety Culture can minimize errors, support teams, and save lives.
Checklists are now essential to my daily routine. They keep me organized and calm when I feel overwhelmed. But I wasn’t always this way—camping taught me their value. For the past decade, my family and I have camped in the Finger Lakes region of New York. While my wife was a seasoned camper, it was all new to me. At first, I was meticulous about packing, double-checking every detail. But over time, packing became routine. I grew confident—maybe too confident. I started assuming I had everything handled, and small mistakes crept in.
On one trip, I forgot an extension cord needed to power the camper. The cord had always been in its usual spot—until it wasn’t. That mistake cost me an 80-minute round trip into town, sixty dollars, and valuable time with my family. Frustrated, I sat down and created a detailed checklist.
That list changed everything. It saved time, reduced stress, and turned camping into a smoother, more enjoyable experience. Now, I don’t just use checklists for camping—I use them as a daily habit that helps me stay prepared for whatever comes my way.
Forgetting something on a camping trip is a minor inconvenience. But in a surgical setting, missing a critical step can have devastating consequences. Hospitals for humans learned this lesson the hard way. Studies have shown that surgical errors, including wrong-site surgeries and retained surgical instruments, often can be traced back to overlooked details. A study published by JAMA Network found that human errors contributed to more than half of complications in major surgeries across three large academic medical institutions.
Similarly, human errors dramatically impact veterinary care. An American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) study, titled “Patient Safety Culture is Needed in Veterinary Medicine,” describes research across 130 veterinary hospitals. 42% of human-caused incidents resulted in patient harm, with 5% leading to patient death. And while only 7% of reported incidents were anesthesia-related, they accounted for 26% of reported fatalities.
Mistakes are inevitable—we’re all human. The goal, however, is to minimize them. One key solution, as recommended by the AVMA, is establishing a Patient Safety Culture (PSC). PSC defines “the way we do things around here” in terms of patient safety, and is shaped by beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviors that reinforce an organization’s commitment to quality care. Creating a PSC culture is a team effort but it starts at the top — leaders must embody the behaviors and attitudes they expect from employees.
A strong PSC benefits both patients and veterinary teams. When a serious error occurs, staff involved may experience the secondvictim effect — a loss of confidence and emotional distress that can impact their well-being and future performance. By fostering a positive safety culture and open communication, teams can reduce harm, learn from mistakes, and recover more effectively.
Another effective solution to reducing mistakes caused by human errors is the implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist. The checklist, introduced in 2008, was designed to enhance communication, teamwork, and adherence to safety protocols before, during, and after surgery. Studies have shown that its use significantly decreases complications and mortality rates. The checklist helps the medical teams and support staff ensure that key steps—such as confirming patient identity, marking surgical sites, reviewing anesthesia risks, and verifying instrument counts—are completed systematically, which helps minimize preventable mistakes in the operating room.
Surgical mistakes are a serious issue, not just in human medicine but also in veterinary care. Errors happen, but the goal is to minimize them. Creating a Patient Safety Culture (PSC) encourages teamwork—teams learn from mistakes and improve communication. The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist adds another layer of protection by making sure critical steps aren’t missed during procedures. When hospitals and clinics use both approaches together—promoting a strong safety culture and following structured checklists—they can cut down on errors, support their teams, and ultimately save more patients’ lives.
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Author:
Tim Keohane, is a Vice President at A.M. Bickford.
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