Crisis Management in Acute Care Settings : Human Factors, Team Psychology, and Patient Safety in a High Stakes Environment

Critical situations in acute and emergency care are one of the great clinical challenges. The nature of such care, involving uncertainty, high stakes, time pressure, and stress, makes this domain particularly vulnerable to errors in patient treatment. It has been increasingly acknowledged over the past decade that safe practice in these circumstances depends on a thorough understanding of the sources of human error. Crisis Management in Acute Care Settings is unique in providing a comprehensive outline of all the human factors issues relevant to patient safety during acute care. This newly revised edition has emerged from a long-standing cooperation between clinicians and psychologists, who have worked together again to enlarge and update each chapter. The strengths of the two professions have been blended into a readily accessible text which will help both physicians and non-physicians to better understand the principles of human behavior and decision making in critical situations and thus to avoid errors and provide safer treatment. Critical situations in acute and emergency care are one of the great clinical challenges because of the uncertainty, high stakes, time pressure, and stress that are involved. This book provides a comprehensive outline of all the human factors issues relevant to patient safety during acute care. Following an initial section discussing the basic principles of human behavior and decision making, the various influences on safe patient care are discussed in depth. These are divided into three interacting groups: individual factors, team factors, and organizational factors. Relevant psychological theories are carefully examined, and case studies and descriptions of proven strategies help to ground these theories in daily practice. This newly revised edition, in which each chapter has been enlarged and updated, will help both physicians and non-physicians to better understand the principles of human behavior and decision making in critical situations and thus to provide safer treatment." Front Matter....Pages i-xxi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The Human Factors: Errors and Skills....Pages 3-22 The Challenge of Acute Healthcare....Pages 23-39 The Nature of Error....Pages 41-59 The Psychology of Human Action....Pages 61-82 Front Matter....Pages 83-83 Human Perception: The Way We See Things....Pages 85-100 Information Processing and Mental Models: World Views....Pages 101-120 Goals and Plans: Turning Points for Success....Pages 121-135 Attention: The Focus of Consciousness....Pages 137-154 Stress....Pages 155-178 Strategies for Action:Ways to Achieve Good Decisions....Pages 179-192 Front Matter....Pages 193-193 The Key to Success: Teamwork....Pages 195-220 Speech is Golden: Communication....Pages 221-251 Leadership....Pages 253-275 Front Matter....Pages 277-277 Organizations and Accidents....Pages 279-298 Reliable Acute Care Medicine....Pages 299-340 Back Matter....Pages 341-346 The human factors: errors and skills The challenge of acute healthcare The nature of error The psychology of human action Human perception: the way we see things Information processing and mental models: world views Goals and plans: turning points for success Attention: in the focus of consciousness Stress Strategies for action: ways to achieve good decisions The key to success: teamwork Speech is golden: communication Leadership Organizations and accidents Reliable acute care medicine. This revised book provides a comprehensive outline of all the human factors issues relevant to patient safety during acute care. It includes case reports and descriptions of proven strategies that help to ground the psychological theory in daily practice.