Presumably you consider Mark the surgical site to be saving lives, and Introduce yourself by name a waste of time. However, there is a reason for the latter it

Presumably you consider Mark the surgical site to be saving lives, and Introduce yourself by name a waste of time. However, there is a reason for the latter item. There have been many plane crashes in which at least one cockpit crew member had some inkling that something was wrong [1], but their warnings were ignored, often when there was a big authority gap. Crew Resource Management [2] was developed to address this. Introducing yourself by name is designed to emphasise that the group is now a team with a common purpose, and everyone, from the lead surgeon to the nurse, can and should speak up if something looks awry. Quite some thought and research has gone into this. Obviously, this doesn't mean that the ideas can't be criticised, but a facile dismissal like yours is unwarranted and might be one reason the checklists don't live up to their potential. [1] Some examples: The Tenerife disaster, 583 fatalities: 'On hearing this, the KLM flight engineer expressed his concern about the Pan Am not being clear of the runway by asking the pilots in his own cockpit, "Is he not clear, that Pan American?" Veldhuyzen van Zanten emphatically replied "Oh, yes" and continued with the takeoff.' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife_airport_disaster#Communication_misunderstandings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife_airport_disaster#Comm... United Flight 172: 'The captain focused on the landing gear problem for an hour, ignoring repeated hints from the first officer and the flight engineer about their dwindling fuel supply. Only when the engines began flaming out did he realize their dire situation.' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_173 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_173 Korean Air 801: 'The crew noticed that the aircraft was descending very steeply, and noted several times that the airport "is not in sight." Despite protests from flight engineer Nam that the detected signal was not the glide-slope indicator, Park pressed on.' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Flight_801#Accident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Flight_801#Accident [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crew_resource_management https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crew_resource_management