Shame, Guilt, and Medical Error in Ann Patchett's State of Wonder

Abstract

Through exploring the relation between shame, guilt, and medical error in Ann Patchett's novel State of Wonder alongside author-physician Danielle Ofri's autobiographical reflections in her essay "Ashamed to Admit It: Owning up to Medical Error," this essay considers how fiction and medical nonfiction might contribute to an understanding of the experience of medical error and being a "second victim" from the point of view of the medical learner. We argue that State of Wonder expands the scope of Ofri's work on shame about medical error; the novel presents a more durational examination of an error's consequences in non-medical contexts.