Meredith (opening voiceover): Remember when we were little and we would accidentally bite a kid on the playground. Our teachers would go, “Say you’re sorry”, and we would say it, but we wouldn’t mean it cos the stupid kid we bit, totally deserved it. But as we get older, making amends isn’t so simple. After the playground days are over you can’t just say it, you have to mean it. Of course when you become a doctor, sorry is not a happy word. It either means you’re dying and I can’t help. Or it means this is really going to hurt.

    Meredith (closing voiceover): As doctors we can’t undo our mistakes, and we rarely forgive ourselves for them, but it’s a hazard of the trade. But as human beings we can always try to do better, to be better, to re-write a wrong even if it feels irreversible. Of course, “I’m sorry” doesn’t always cut it. Maybe because we use it so many different ways: as a weapon, as an excuse. But when we are really sorry. When we use it right. When we mean it. When actions say what words never can. When we get it right, “I’m sorry” is perfect. When we get it right, “I’m sorry” is redemption.