Category: Practice Guides

Several years ago, Atul Gawande published a book called The Checklist Manifesto. Gawande is a surgeon, public health researcher, and prolific writer. The premise of his book is routines and habits help prevent errors, and checklists encourage compliance with routines and habits. Without written reminders, doctors overlook important steps, just like anyone else. I am…

Occasionally, I run into a classmate who surprises me. Some people live up to our expectations, especially the extremely talented or extremely troubled. Others surprise us. A couple years back I reunited with an old friend. Growing up, he was quiet, shy and unlikely to stray far from Eastern North Carolina. I was not surprised…

Several years ago, I was driving my son home from a basketball practice. We pulled off an exit ramp and passed a couple women attempting to change a tire. Something struck me, and I pulled over to help. My preteen son’s response: “what are you doing? don’t you know how it ends?” Now, I’m no…