4 ms·

This [1] is a great article that I think gets at this topic a bit. Basically, germ theory and anesthesia (ether) were both discovered around the same time. Yet

This [1] is a great article that I think gets at this topic a bit. Basically, germ theory and anesthesia (ether) were both discovered around the same time. Yet anesthesia spread around the world in a matter of years, while germ theory is still a struggle for doctors and hospitals. I presume the reasons checklists are underutilized are similar, lack of immediate consequence, low probably of consequence, and added difficulty instead of simplifying things. We must do better. [1] https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/07/29/slow-ideas https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/07/29/slow-ideas

gingabriska 7y ago
Then it should also apply to the use of contraceptives
- rurp 7y ago
  Lack of contraceptive use does certainly have a delayed and inconsistent effect, but when the effect does happen it does so in a way that is far more visible and traceable than any disease caused by dirty hands.
Scoundreller 7y ago
Ether was a new tool that lets you do something you couldn’t do before. Checklists were a new tool that required you to submit that you’re stupid and should depend on inanimate paper to do what you already know.
- arrosenberg 7y ago
  Maybe part of medical training should include the difference between stupidity and fallibility then. If you made it to med school, you probably aren't stupid, but you are human.
  - viraptor 7y ago
    I'd go with: part of any training for complex tasks. And even to kids in general. There are so many people I met who can't imagine that others make mistakes without any real reasons, which leads to unnecessary conflicts or workplace issues. It just happens - plan for people failing, not for punishing random failures.
thaumasiotes 7y ago
> germ theory is still a struggle for doctors and hospitals What do you mean by this? As written, it's total nonsense; germ theory is universally accepted.
- sbierwagen 7y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospital-acquired_infection https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospital-acquired_infection
  - JudgeWapner 7y ago
    The fact that patients get infected doesn't mean the hospital rejects "germ theory".

gingabriska 7y ago

Then it should also apply to the use of contraceptives

rurp 7y ago
Lack of contraceptive use does certainly have a delayed and inconsistent effect, but when the effect does happen it does so in a way that is far more visible and traceable than any disease caused by dirty hands.

Scoundreller 7y ago

Ether was a new tool that lets you do something you couldn’t do before. Checklists were a new tool that required you to submit that you’re stupid and should depend on inanimate paper to do what you already know.

arrosenberg 7y ago
Maybe part of medical training should include the difference between stupidity and fallibility then. If you made it to med school, you probably aren't stupid, but you are human.
- viraptor 7y ago
  I'd go with: part of any training for complex tasks. And even to kids in general. There are so many people I met who can't imagine that others make mistakes without any real reasons, which leads to unnecessary conflicts or workplace issues. It just happens - plan for people failing, not for punishing random failures.

thaumasiotes 7y ago

> germ theory is still a struggle for doctors and hospitals What do you mean by this? As written, it's total nonsense; germ theory is universally accepted.

sbierwagen 7y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospital-acquired_infection https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospital-acquired_infection
- JudgeWapner 7y ago
  The fact that patients get infected doesn't mean the hospital rejects "germ theory".