Can medicine really learn anything from aviation? Or are patients and their disease processes too complex?

Abstract

Much has been written in the medical and human factors literature in recent years about the similarities between aviation and medicine (especially anesthesiology). In this discussion, we ask whether medicine really can learn lessons from aviation and what those lessons are. In particular we will focus on error management, the root causes of adverse events, including fatigue, barriers for safety, and the personality traits that may contribute to adverse outcomes (for which we have coined the term “Shiva factor”—named for the Hindu god who can be both the preserver of life and the destroyer).