What pilots can teach

ALTHOUGH MY WORK allows me to rub shoulders with ICT professionals who interface with the Health Services Executive in Ireland, I have no relevant expertise that piques their interest. Unless you consider the hours I have spent uncovering the causes of fatal aircraft accidents. Those four years of work, including one where I earned top honours as an flight safety officer in the Air Training Command, stay buried well off my CV. But a link from Dervala Hanley suggests I should dust off some of my stuff and record it for consideration.

In the States, a growing number of health care providers have turned to flight safety accident investigations to learn more about best practise for on-scene response to major incidents. In the last five years, several major hospitals have hired professional pilots to train their critical-care staff members on how to apply aviation safety principles to their work.

Kate Murphy explains, “They learn standard cockpit procedures like communication protocols, checklists and crew briefings to improve patient care, if not save patients’ lives. Though health care experts disagree on how to incorporate aviation-based safety measures, few argue about the parallels between the two industries or the value of borrowing the best practices.”

I think it’s time to start talking about my adventures with bent metal and burnt parts. Memories of some of those adventures still give me sweaty palms.

Kate Murphy – “What Pilots Can Teach Hospitals About Patient Safety”