Own the Mistake

Christopher Columbus set out to find a new route to India, China, Japan, and the Spice Islands. He missed the mark; never got there. Made a mistake. Ernest Shackleton took a trip to get to the South Pole, perhaps a more elusive location than the North Pole. Speaking of the North Pole, who really got there first? Cook or Peary? Someone did, somewhere around 1907-1909. More than 100 years later, we really don’t know. But Shackleton had his sight on the South Pole in 1907. His ship, the Endurance, couldn’t get there. Pack ice. Really thick pack ice. The ship got trapped. The men abandoned ship. They lived on an ice floe. Many lost hope; many lost their minds; but none lost their lives. Shackleton saved them. The entire crew survived. That’s an entire other story. Shackleton made a big mistake, but ultimately made things right. If we asked him today if he made a mistake, he might surreptitiously say, “My bad!”

My bad? Such a sedate, benign, limpid use of words. He made a big mistake. Christopher Columbus made a big mistake. Not a “My bad.” If you make a mistake, then say you made a mistake and apologize. It is not a “My bad.” In this issue of Vein Specialist, we don’t make mistakes. “My bad” doesn’t exist. But what does exist in this issue are multiple viewpoints, experiences, and musings about what it is to be a member of AVF. We have asked recent members, middle-of-career members, and seasoned members to talk about this. Our contributors include: Kathleen Ozsvath, Mona Li, Alejandro Gonzalez Ochoa, Young Erben, Rashad Bishara, and Oscar Moreno. There are also updates on our upcoming annual meeting. Two new publications recently came out: more SVS/AVF/AVLS/SIR/SVM guidelines and a new edition of Sumner’s Hemodynamic Guide. Both provide needed information for practicing vein specialists. Nobody made a mistake. Or said, “My bad.”

“My bad,” a euphemism. A way of not really owning a mistake. The phrase gives you a way out to not fully own your actions. Why should we embrace an expression that is defined as, “It’s almost the same as saying ’I’m sorry,’, but you may not necessarily be sorry.” Urban Dictionary defines “my bad” as “a way of admitting a mistake and apologizing for the mistake without actually apologizing.”

The obvious conclusion is that those who say “my bad” are hiding behind this euphemism. In America everyone gets a medal. Every child on every team gets a medal: win or lose. This is not life. “My bad” is a life experience disservice. It is promulgating the unrealistic, idealistic, bombastic experience of a sheltered youth. We all win, always. Failure is not an option. Big mistake.

In this edition of Vein Specialist, some of our contributors share their journey in the vein world. Failure was and is a possibility. No one uses the phrase, “My bad.” My choice, my decision, my goal; that’s all we hear. Vein Specialist makes mistakes. We all do. But “my bad” will not appear in any subsequent issue. And we hope we have convinced you that “my bad” should not be in your linguistic repertoire. Own your decisions whether correct or a mistake. No euphemisms here. Only the honest truth. Read this issue. There are no mistakes. If you think there are, then we’ll own it.

The AVF Membership Committee is a group of volunteers appointed by the AVF Board of Directors. We meet monthly to develop strategies to grow AVF Membership and to connect better with our members.