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A Research Study On Situational Blindness Essay

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It is truly fascinating the amount of trauma and mutilation that one human being can endure. Subdural hematoma, aortic rupture, diabetic ketoacidosis, internal and external blast injuries, acute myocardial infarction, or even third degree burns are no match for modern medicine. In times past, these conditions or injuries were beyond the physicians control and presumed fatal to the individual. However, survival percentages are now higher, and can be attributed to medical advancement and the use of medical checklists. Over the years, the medical practices and research studies from highly acclaimed professionals such as Dr. Atul Gawande, prove that checklists help guide medical professionals to a more precise outcome over medical practices without a checklist involved. Therefore, in order for concise, operative, and reliable medical practice, a checklist guideline is essential as it reduces the margin of error, increases positive prognosis, and prevents situational blindness. In the early 20th century, situational blindness was again a key factor for postponing success in modern medicine when it came to childbirth. In New York City alone, the New York Academy of Medicine’s records showed that 2,041 women died during childbirth in 1933 as recalled in an essay in Dr. Atul Gawande’s book, Better: A Surgeon 's Notes on Performance (Gawande 179). This number has been shocking since in the 19th century, doctors and scientists discovered through works lead by Ignac Semmelweis and

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