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Beth Israel surgeon refuses to admit he could ever make a mistake

Beth Israel Deaconess CEO Paul Levy posts an exchange of e-mails among surgeons over a new requirement that they complete an online training module brought in after a surgeon operated on the wrong side of a patient last year. However, he omits the name of the surgeon who thinks he would never make a mistake like that and that the training is just a waste of his time.


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Comments

Regardless of what he says, he won't be allowed to continue to do operations here until he goes through the full training.

You should be more worried about other places that have not adopted this kind of protocol as a standard of care and do not require the training.

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HEY!

I like this Paul Levy guy!

Wanna run for Governor? Please???

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...deposit his paycheck in someone else's account for a month or so.

I'm sure some janitor would find good use for the 10-fold increase in pay. I bet said janitor would also be happy to take the online training module, too.

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And I think my thyroid knows him quite intimately. 'Nuff said.

Good work, Dr Levy. (I'd vote for you.)

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The unknown emailer is right - one goofball goofs and everyone faces the consequences. E.g. bet traffics signs and signals were invented after one goofball didn't have the commonsense to stop at a busy intersection and thus drove thru and caused an accident. It's just flat out dumb not to learn from, and change because of, other people's mistakes. So kudos to Mr. Levy and BID for learning and changing.

That said, can't help but wonder if going public with this guy's email will have the unintended consequence of kiboshing the open change of ideas and opinions at BID? what does posting the email word-for-word accomplish that just paraphrasing wouldn't? Law of unintended consequence could well be lack of feedback from employees (and I'm talking big picture here, not just this instance of self-centered arrogance).

It reminds me of the "Levy Rule", previously talked about here. Whomever suggests a good idea, implements it. That inhibits people from putting their ideas on the table for discussion. Some people are good with ideas, others good with doing.

Just my humble idea. Or am I now an doer since I'm posting this?

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Well I am sure the Levy rule has exceptions. For instance if a janitor were to mention to him that the hospital should have a certain program and he liked the idea I am sure he would not tell him to go do it himself.

From my own experience I have felt that many people out there toss out ideas and expect others to follow through. Oftentimes these ideas make other peoples lives difficult and the idea maker stands there with her hands on her hips saying "well how hard can it be". The Levy rule , in theory, would make people think twice before they toss out an idea. For instance before an administrator decides it would be a good idea to have a certain hospital program start at 5pm on a Friday in August he/she will step back and think "um do I want to be here at 5pm on a Friday in August or do I want to be going home to my family?" The "idea" people try to get the credit for coming up with the idea, then pass it off for someone else to do and then show up at the end like they were there the whole time.

Draft Levy for Governor 2010

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The Levy rule only applies to volunteer board members of non-profit community boards, like our girls soccer league. People on those boards are always coming up with great ideas about "what we should do", expecting someone else to carry them out. Well, since everybody is a volunteer, no one has time to take on more work. So the rule in that situation is that you only get to suggest a new project if you agree to head it up.

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