In the other book, surgeon Atul Gawande described how he almost lost an Emergency Room patient who had crashed her car when he fumbled a tracheotomy only for patient to be saved by another surgeon who successfully got the breathing tube inserted. Gawande also has a chapter on doctors’ errors. His point, documented by a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine (1991) and subsequent reports is that nearly all physicians err.
If nearly all doctors make mistakes, do they talk about them? Privately with people they trust, yes. In public, that is, with other doctors in academic hospitals, the answer is also yes. There is an institutional mechanism where hospital doctors meet weekly called Morbidity and Mortality Conferences (M & M for short) where, in Gawande’s words, doctors “gather behind closed doors to review the mistakes, untoward events, and deaths that occurred on their watch, determine responsibility, and figure out what to do differently (p. 58).” He describes an M & M (pp.58-64) at his hospital and concludes: “The M & M sees avoiding error as largely a matter of will–staying sufficiently informed and alert to anticipate the myriad ways that things can go wrong and then trying to head off each potential problem before it happens” (p. 62). Protected by law, physicians air their mistakes without fear of malpractice suits.
Kelvin Thompson on 14 Feb 12This brief article is an early work by Dr. Ian Bogost related to what he would later refer to as "procedural rhetoric." In this piece Dr. Bogost draws parallels between various processes essential to being "literate" at different points in history. With what "processes" do we need to become literate as educators in the 21st century? How can we help others become literate?
sapientsojourn on 21 Feb 12This sounds a lot like learning by doing. If students can't experience battle re-enactments, or visit musuems and historical sites, or travel to parks, or act out a story, technology might afford those luxuries. Computers, iPads, even smart phones can provide virtual field trips and experiences. Students can further share these experiences through social networking. As an older generation, I feel it necessary to keep learning how today's youth are communicating so I will be able to connect with them and bridge that gap in their education.
Mark Corey on 21 Feb 12Not a fan of Diamond, but I did like Guns, Germs, and Steel. As it relates to learning, I do agree that there is great benefit in constructing your learning. I imagine a day when we will be able to choose from a vast assortment of resources that will allow us to illustrate specific terms or concepts and from those resources we can build knowledge, sort of like a Lego model.
