The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain

by Annie Murphy Paul

In her 2002 dissertation, and then in a series of articles published in medical journals, Pape made a case for imitating this practice. “The key to preventing medication errors lies with adopting protocols from other safety-focused industries,” Pape wrote in the journal MEDSURG Nursing in 2003. “The airline industry, for example, has methods in place that improve pilots’ focus and provide a milieu of safety when human life is at stake.” Such methods could be adapted to the hospital setting, she argued, by creating a “no-interruptions zone” around medication preparation areas, and by having nurses who are administering medication wear special vests or sashes signaling that they are not to be disturbed. Added Pape, pointedly, “Medication administration should be considered as critical as piloting a plane, because patients place their lives in the hands of healthcare professionals.”