Human factors in medicine: the art of common sense at work.

Abstract

Invited Editorial We all make mistakes, mostly with little or no adverse impact or consequence. However, in medicine and other high-risk organisations (HROs) such as aviation any error can be catastrophic. Direct comparison of other HROs with healthcare should not be made as they are diverse professions. However, we should embrace the concepts of learning from HF as an effective mechanism in reducing errors and HF awareness should begin early in undergraduate training and continue throughout any medical career.