As I sit in the airport after an incredible week in Breckenridge, I remember the stat that was shared multiple times through the week. On my 3 hour flight home, the pilot will make around 3 mistakes. One per hour. I can see my plane out the window. That thing is huge. What an enormous responsibility. But thank goodness the pilot is not in there alone. S/he has a team. He can do his absolute best with the confidence that his team has his back. The roles in the cockpit are not identical, but complement each other. I hope and trust that my pilot is not too proud to have open lines of communication. That he will readily accept correction or questions from his copilot. (And that the copilot will speak up!) That he will be diligent through our whole trip.
I hope the same is true of our medical providers. I know of many physicians with a superiority complex. How could the nurse possibly contribute anything they don’t know? But oh boy do these docs have a lot to learn… apparently they don’t teach you everything in medical school. The medical staff should complement one another, from security guard to pharmacist to OT/PT to whomever. One person can’t be omnipresent and omnipotent. It’s not possible as a human being. A perfect board score- a “complete” knowledge of the human body and its maladies- cannot adequately compensate for poor communication.
I hope the same is true of me.