Voltaire in the ICU

"Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien."

These words were written by Voltaire, and it is popularly rendered as "The perfect is the enemy of the good."

In the ICU, I have to make decisions every day on critically ill patients, and frequently, I have to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Sometimes, doing something is worse than doing nothing at all.

In this latest episode of the podcast, Dr. Hassaballa discusses how he heeds the advice of Voltaire when he works in the ICU.