Excerpted from How a Checklist Can Save Your Life:
“As experts, we will fail,” he said. “As elites, we will fail. The first thing they teach aviators, surprisingly, is, ‘You’re going to screw up. And it’s going to kill someone. Definitely you and maybe others….’
Due to increasing complexity in our jobs, it’s easy to lose sight of critical tasks. The argument for the checklist is that experts and leaders need written guides to walk them through the steps of any complicated procedure.”
“…In his book, Gawande distinguishes between ignorance, when the knowledge doesn’t exist; and ineptitude, when the knowledge exists but an individual or group of individuals fails to apply it correctly.”
Excerpted from How Checklists Can Keep You Alive After Surgery:
The problem with the checklist, as Pronovost himself learned, is that their use and control sets off a power struggle. He recommends nurses control the checklist, so doctors resist the process, because they don’t like taking orders from nurses.