DUNNING KRUGER EFFECT

The debate with non-healthcare qualified injectors on my page continues to shock me.  

The most recent statement was 

"if you have ANY fear of complications you shouldn't be injecting"  

 

This from someone who is not qualified to manage disease processes is frankly the most terrifying example of the Dunning Kruger Effect.  

If you haven't heard of this, it's the paradoxical association between confidence and competence and exactly why the least competent people have the most confidence. 

I'll never forget on my first day as a junior doctor, a surgical registrar called Alex was my mentor. He said something to me I will never forget...because it scared me.  

"As a new doctor first you will feel overwhelmed...

 ...then you will make rapid progress

...soon you will feel more and more at home.

...Then you will feel like you've finally cracked it

... you think you can handle anything...

...and that's exactly when you will REALLY f*ck up and hurt someone".  

I remember my blood running cold as he said this... what he was describing was the Dunning Krueger effect. 

This graph describes the ratio of confidence to competence.  

The peak of the graph is often called 'mount stupid'. 

The expert is LESS confident than the novice. That's wisdom. 

The expert is paradoxically always a student. The dangerous one is the one who thinks they know enough. 

...that combination of ignorance and arrogance is only visible from the outside. 

This lack of TOTAL confidence is ESSENTIAL to keep patients safe. 

I recommend you ALWAYS retain a healthy fear of complications, and USE it to drive you to get safer and safer all the time.

Dr Tim Pearce, Education Website