Well, it's been a fun ride. The Reading workshop for our class is coming to a close, and I will no longer be required to maintain a blog such as this. I've really enjoyed doing this, and perhaps in the future, I'll expand and explore the other aspects of blogging, besides literary reviews and analysis. If I do create such a blog, then I will most definitely be posting a link here. Thanks for visiting Jot it Down with Josh!
- Josh
P.S. Posts on this blog will become much more infrequent, I'm afraid to say, as with this project's completion, another one will soon take its place and demand more of my attention. I do not wish for this blog to wallow and decay though, and hopefully, I'll post again here soon.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
The Checklist Manifesto; Post 3
The Checklist Manifesto
By: Atul Gawande
Post 3
The final chapter of the final book (in the project) has been finished. And now, for the blogpost:
So, after seeing how effective checklists could be in preventing infection, Gawande, who had shown interest in checklists, expanded his point of view, looking at all sorts of checklists and fields in which they are used. A particularly fascinating checklist was that used for aircraft scenarios. They prevented many accidents or, at the very least, decreased the number of losses of human lives. Gawande, in correspondence with the World Health Organization, decided to create a standard surgery checklist for use in hospitals internationally. After multiple tries, test phases, revisions, and studies, an effective surgical checklist to cover general surgical procedures was released. During this time, Gawande also comments on how and why checklists are overlooked or underestimated. The experienced professionals may believe they are above using checklists, and may disregard them. It provided an interesting mix of views on checklists besides just Gawande's.
I've really enjoyed reading this book. I've felt like the concepts for checklists laid out in the book are really applicable to my own life. The checklists have been proven to help people of all levels of expertise in many different fields remember vital things, even though the checklists themselves may seem trivial or unnecessary. I realize no also, that Atul Gawande is trying to stress the importance of checklists because everyone is susceptible to disregarding it. He himself didn't think the checklist owuld make much of a difference when he used it. "As soon as our surgery checklist (developed by him and the World Health Organization) began taking form, I began using it in my own operations... I had better be using it myself... But in my heart of hearts... did I think the checklist would make much of a difference in my cases? no. In my cases? Please," (Gawande 187). Of course, he only proved himself wrong later as the checklist helped to save him from multiple instances in which the patient was close to death.
Even Gawande, the author, was susceptible. The man who helped develop the checklist in the first place. The importance of this message is that everyone has the "ability" to disregard the checklist, making it all the more important. I see this in myself, too. My dad would always tell me to write down my homework and check it off as I complete it. I would often disregard it though, stating "I'll remember." After reading this book... I'll probably still do it sometimes, but I now have a respect for the simple checklist, and all it can do.
Until next time(?),
Josh C.
By: Atul Gawande
Post 3
The final chapter of the final book (in the project) has been finished. And now, for the blogpost:
So, after seeing how effective checklists could be in preventing infection, Gawande, who had shown interest in checklists, expanded his point of view, looking at all sorts of checklists and fields in which they are used. A particularly fascinating checklist was that used for aircraft scenarios. They prevented many accidents or, at the very least, decreased the number of losses of human lives. Gawande, in correspondence with the World Health Organization, decided to create a standard surgery checklist for use in hospitals internationally. After multiple tries, test phases, revisions, and studies, an effective surgical checklist to cover general surgical procedures was released. During this time, Gawande also comments on how and why checklists are overlooked or underestimated. The experienced professionals may believe they are above using checklists, and may disregard them. It provided an interesting mix of views on checklists besides just Gawande's.
I've really enjoyed reading this book. I've felt like the concepts for checklists laid out in the book are really applicable to my own life. The checklists have been proven to help people of all levels of expertise in many different fields remember vital things, even though the checklists themselves may seem trivial or unnecessary. I realize no also, that Atul Gawande is trying to stress the importance of checklists because everyone is susceptible to disregarding it. He himself didn't think the checklist owuld make much of a difference when he used it. "As soon as our surgery checklist (developed by him and the World Health Organization) began taking form, I began using it in my own operations... I had better be using it myself... But in my heart of hearts... did I think the checklist would make much of a difference in my cases? no. In my cases? Please," (Gawande 187). Of course, he only proved himself wrong later as the checklist helped to save him from multiple instances in which the patient was close to death.
Even Gawande, the author, was susceptible. The man who helped develop the checklist in the first place. The importance of this message is that everyone has the "ability" to disregard the checklist, making it all the more important. I see this in myself, too. My dad would always tell me to write down my homework and check it off as I complete it. I would often disregard it though, stating "I'll remember." After reading this book... I'll probably still do it sometimes, but I now have a respect for the simple checklist, and all it can do.
Until next time(?),
Josh C.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
The Checklist Mainfesto; Post 2
The Checklist Manifesto
By: Atul Gawande
Post 2
I've read about half of The Checklist Manifesto, and it really is quite fascinating. Time and time again, example after example, checklists, no matter how simple or trivial they may seem, are in fact very, very good at doing their jobs.
Just to give a brief summary, Gawande describes checklists being able to help people in complex or pressured environments (like in hospital Intensive Care Units) with two primary difficulties. "The first is the fallibility of the human memory and attention, especially when it comes to mundane, routine matters that are easily overlooked under the strain of more pressing events," (Gawande 36). "A further difficulty, just as insidious, is that people can lull themselves into skipping steps, even when they remember them," (Gawande 36). Gawande gives several examples of this, favoring the use of his medical experience and connections. One example that really stood out was the use of a checklist when using central lines in surgery (central lines are connections between the patient's body and various medical equipment, in order to track bodily functions. For example, an arterial line gives continuous measurements of the patient's blood pressure). In many hospitals, there was a consistent problem with lines becoming infected. Peter Pronovost of John Hopkins Hospital proposed that doctors begin following a checklist that gave the basic outlines of how to prevent infection. Nurses were encouraged to remind doctors should they forget or defer from the list. As a result, the infection of lines rate at John Hopkins Hospital was reduced from 11% to 0%. When the study was tested on various hospitals in Michigan, the rate of infection of central lines dropped by 66%.
Overall, I think the reason I've found this book to be so interesting is the idea that something so simple would have such a humongous impact. My dad has actually been trying to get me to read this book for some time now, in the hopes that reading it will encourage me to be more organized and time efficient with my homework, creating a checklist (of sorts) and planning my priorities wisely. Now do I see just how helpful these little lists can be, reducing infections in hospitals by such a significant percentage. I look forward to what else Gawande has to say about this extraordinary power of checklists.
Until next time,
Josh C.
By: Atul Gawande
Post 2
I've read about half of The Checklist Manifesto, and it really is quite fascinating. Time and time again, example after example, checklists, no matter how simple or trivial they may seem, are in fact very, very good at doing their jobs.
Just to give a brief summary, Gawande describes checklists being able to help people in complex or pressured environments (like in hospital Intensive Care Units) with two primary difficulties. "The first is the fallibility of the human memory and attention, especially when it comes to mundane, routine matters that are easily overlooked under the strain of more pressing events," (Gawande 36). "A further difficulty, just as insidious, is that people can lull themselves into skipping steps, even when they remember them," (Gawande 36). Gawande gives several examples of this, favoring the use of his medical experience and connections. One example that really stood out was the use of a checklist when using central lines in surgery (central lines are connections between the patient's body and various medical equipment, in order to track bodily functions. For example, an arterial line gives continuous measurements of the patient's blood pressure). In many hospitals, there was a consistent problem with lines becoming infected. Peter Pronovost of John Hopkins Hospital proposed that doctors begin following a checklist that gave the basic outlines of how to prevent infection. Nurses were encouraged to remind doctors should they forget or defer from the list. As a result, the infection of lines rate at John Hopkins Hospital was reduced from 11% to 0%. When the study was tested on various hospitals in Michigan, the rate of infection of central lines dropped by 66%.
Overall, I think the reason I've found this book to be so interesting is the idea that something so simple would have such a humongous impact. My dad has actually been trying to get me to read this book for some time now, in the hopes that reading it will encourage me to be more organized and time efficient with my homework, creating a checklist (of sorts) and planning my priorities wisely. Now do I see just how helpful these little lists can be, reducing infections in hospitals by such a significant percentage. I look forward to what else Gawande has to say about this extraordinary power of checklists.
Until next time,
Josh C.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)