The Checklist Manifesto

 A young girl falls into a freezing pond. Her parents find her and bring her to the hospital. While she is basically dead, the hospital staff revived her to life after carefully following a checklist. Doctor Atul Gawande is so impressed by this story that he started to do research on checklists. He wrote The Checklist Manifesto in 2009. He talks about medical situations but also construction and the airline industry. When high rises are construction checklists are used. The checklist itself is not the magic that keeps high rise buildings safe. Communication about the checklist with all the players is what makes it work. The owner, the architect, the building supply manager, the electricians, the plumbers, the welders and the concrete layers are all involved in daily decisions. Each member of the high rise team is required to sign off on approval. They are also required to respond that they have read all emails. No one outranks another person. This is a team with one goal - construct a high rise that will withstand the wind and weather. The airline industry has done the same thing. Once a problem occurs new checklists are written. When 3 Canadian Geese entered both engines of US Airways flight, co-pilot Sully Sullenberger took over controls as the pilot was more experienced with the checklists. Together, with the help of all staff on board, they were able to land the plane in the Hudson and everyone survived. The author's point is that the health care field is less willing to adapt checklists. This author is a surgeon and he worked with the World Health Organization to create surgery checklists. Unfortunately, in the health care field, some practitioners think they know it all and do not appreciate being questioned. I enjoyed reading this book and have started making my own checklists. I get more done if I follow a checklist.