The U.S. healthcare system is now spending many millions of dollars to improve "patient safety" and "inter-professional practice." Nevertheless, an estimated 100,000 patients still succumb to preventable medical errors or infections every year. How can health care providers reduce the terrible financial and human toll of medical errors and injuries that harm rather than heal? Beyond the Checklist argues that lives could be saved and patient care enhanced by adapting the relevant lessons of aviation safety and teamwork. In response to a series of human-error caused crashes, the airline industry developed the system of job training and information sharing known as Crew Resource Management (CRM). Under the new industry-wide system of CRM, pilots, flight attendants, and ground crews now communicate and cooperate in ways that have greatly reduced the hazards of commercial air travel. The coauthors of this book sought out the aviation professionals who made this transformation possible. Beyond the Checklist gives us an inside look at CRM training and shows how airline staff interaction that once suffered from the same dysfunction that too often undermines real teamwork in health care today has dramatically improved. Drawing on the experience of doctors, nurses, medical educators, and administrators, this book demonstrates how CRM can be adapted, more widely and effectively, to health care delivery. The authors provide case studies of three institutions that have successfully incorporated CRM-like principles into the fabric of their clinical culture by embracing practices that promote common patient safety knowledge and skills.They infuse this study with their own diverse experience and collaborative spirit: Patrick Mendenhall is a commercial airline pilot who teaches CRM; Suzanne Gordon is a nationally known health care journalist, training consultant, and speaker on issues related to nursing; and Bonnie Blair O'Connor is an ethnographer and medical educator who has spent more than two decades observing medical training and teamwork from the inside.

With a prologue by Melchor J AntuA ano (Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, Oklahoma City, USA) The book provides an up-to-date overview of the history of aviation medicine and the development of medical requirements for licensing. Also the physiological foundation for flight, the physiology of the sensory organs, exposure to cosmic radiation, the preventative aspects of aviation medicine, the role of medical factors in accident investigation, and passenger health issues are covered.The bulk of the book is the clinical part which contains several chapters and sub-chapters on clinical aviation medicine with detailed guidance, written by Medical Examiners for Medical Examiners, on how to examine aircrew and how to determine their fitness for flight, especially in cases where the medical requirements are not fully met. Focussing on cardiology, ophthalmology, otology, neurology, psychology and psychiatry, Principles and Practice of Aviation Medicine provides an in-depth discussion of many diseases and medical conditions, frequently encountered in aeromedical practice, with emphasis on how they relate to the demands of contemporary aviation, both with regard to airline pilots and private pilots. Throughout particular consideration is given to how and when flexibility can be applied to the medical certification.In addition, the book includes a chapter on the international medical requirements and other pertinent rules and regulations for medical certification set by the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) and the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States (FAA), as well as the latest revised medical standards and recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)."

This book is a practical guide for health care professionals encountering medical emergencies during commercial flight. Health care providers should consider responding to emergencies during flight as there are often no other qualified individuals on board. This text covers the most common emergencies encountered during flight, both general medical emergencies and those specifically tied to the effects of flying, including cardiac, respiratory, and neurological issues. Medicolegal issues are considered in depth, for both United States domestic and international flights, as there is potential legal risk involved in giving medical assistance on a flight. Additional chapters are dedicated to pre-flight clearance and the role non-physician healthcare providers can play. In-Flight Medical Emergencies: A Practical Guide to Preparedness and Response is an essential resource for not only physicians but all healthcare professionals who travel regularly.

Published in 1998, culture forms a complex framework of national, organizational, and professional attitudes and values within which groups and individuals function. The reality and strength of culture become salient when we work within a new group and interact with people who have well established norms and values. In this book the authors report the results of their ongoing exploration of the influences of culture in two professions, aviation and medicine. Their focus is on commercial airline pilots and operating room teams. Within these two environments they show the effect of professional, national and organizational cultures of individual attitudes and values and team interaction.