The U.S. healthcare system invests millions to enhance "patient safety" and "inter-professional practice," yet around 100,000 patients die annually from preventable medical errors or infections. To address this crisis, the authors argue for adopting lessons from aviation safety and teamwork. In response to human-error-related crashes, the airline industry developed Crew Resource Management (CRM), a system that fosters communication and cooperation among pilots, flight attendants, and ground crews, significantly improving safety in commercial air travel. The coauthors sought insights from aviation professionals who facilitated this transformation. They provide an inside look at CRM training and illustrate how airline staff interactions, previously hindered by dysfunction, have evolved to promote effective teamwork. By drawing on experiences from doctors, nurses, medical educators, and administrators, the book illustrates how CRM principles can be adapted to enhance healthcare delivery. It includes case studies from three institutions that have successfully integrated CRM-like practices into their clinical cultures, fostering shared patient safety knowledge and skills. The authors bring a wealth of experience: Patrick Mendenhall, a commercial airline pilot and CRM instructor; Suzanne Gordon, a renowned healthcare journalist and consultant; and Bonnie Blair O'Connor, an ethnographer and medical educator with over two decades of e
