Harvard Medical School scholar to lead discussion on errors in health care

RobinsonThe Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Chapter of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society will host a Visiting Professorship Lecture on Wednesday, May 14, from 4 to 5 p.m. at the School of Medicine, Room E-401. All are invited to attend.

Shenandoah Robinson, associate professor of surgery and neurology at Harvard Medical School, will present “Our Commitment to High Reliability.” She is formerly the surgical director of the Pediatric Epilepsy Center at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and a professor of neurological surgery and neurosciences at the CWRU School of Medicine.

Have you or those close to you been impacted by a medical error? High reliability organizations such as nuclear power and airline industries experience errors in the range of 1 in 1 million to 1 in 10 million events. By contrast, the error rate in U.S. health care is estimated at 1 in 600. The Hippocratic Oath obligates health care professionals to not harm their patients. Robinson will discuss recent strategies to improve reliability and the culture of safety in health care delivery.

Robinson serves on the Boston Children’s Hospital Committee for the Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS) National Children’s Network and previously worked on patient safety initiatives with pediatrician and SPS co-leader Anne Lyren at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. Rainbow played a significant leadership role in the founding of the SPS.