Aviation Safety Expert to Deliver Keynote Address at AARC Congress 2012

September 5, 2012

Like many other organizations, the AARC is taking a page from the aviation industry by developing a series of checklists aimed at improving patient safety. The first three checklists were made available earlier this year and focus on oxygenation during in-patient transport of adults/children and infants/neonates, and assessing the risk for ICU readmissions in adults.

The connection between aviation safety and patient safety will take center stage at the AARC International Respiratory Convention & Exhibition this Nov. 10–13 in New Orleans, as the Association brings nationally known aviation and patient safety expert John J. Nance to the podium to deliver the keynote address.

Many of you will recognize Nance from his appearances on ABC World News Tonight and Good Morning America, where he serves as an aviation analyst and is regularly called upon to offer expert opinions whenever a major airline emergency occurs. He has shared his expertise on flight safety on numerous other networks and news shows as well, including CNN, PBS, the Today Show, and Oprah.

Captain Nance is also a civilian pioneer in the application of Crew Resource Management (CRM), a procedure and training system focusing on interpersonal communication, leadership, and decision-making in situations where human error can have devastating effects. He’ll reference CRM throughout the keynote and discuss how this and other aviation principles should be infused into the culture of American healthcare to improve patient safety.

His interest in the health care field grew out of the realization that flight safety programs implemented in military and civilian aviation could easily be translated to the patient safety environment. Nance, who is also an attorney, outlined his vision for health care in Why Hospitals Should Fly, which won the Book of the Year Award from the American College of Healthcare Executives in 2009.

John Nance has presented keynote addresses at a number of health care-related meetings over the past few years, including the LeapFrogGroup conference held last December.