I was at an extreme medicine conference this weekend and the topic of the miracle of the Hudson River Plane Crash in 2009 came up. It was cited as an excellent example of crew resource management, which is "a set of training procedures for use in environments where human error can have devastating effects".
As plane crashes go, one couldn't have asked for a better crew. The captain in addition to having flown for 30 years, was an expert in aviation safety. Captain Sullenberger, the plane pilot said in a later TV interview, "One way of looking at this might be that for 42 years, I've been making small, regular deposits in this bank of experience, education and training. And on January 15 the balance was sufficient so that I could make a very large withdrawal."
The success of this withdrawal meant children grew up with mothers, husbands with wives.
Being a clinical medical student, one spends a lot of time just hanging around the hospital. Some days are wonderful, others not so much. During one of those not so much days, I'll hopefully remember Cpt Sully's words and know that I'm making those deposits for when that withdrawal can mean my patient lives.
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