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. 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.

Part I: Basic Principles: Error, Complexity, and Human Behavior: The Human Factors: Errors and Skills

The Challenge of Acute Healthcare
The Nature of Error.-The Psychology of Human Action
Part II: Individual Factors of Behavior: 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
Part III: The Team: The Key to Success: Teamwork.-Speech is Golden: Communication.-Leadership- Part IV: The Organization: Organizations and Human Error.-Reliable Acute Care Medicine.