Implementation of Resilience Engineering for Thoracic Surgery. Reconciling Work-as-Imagined and Work-as-Done

Abstract

Background: The Work-As-Imagined (WAI) is a plan that is expected to be performed before surgery, and the Work-As-Done (WAD) is the result of work actually done. In order to perform safe and high-quality surgery for the individual surgeon, the surgical team, and hospital organization as a system, we have to reconcile the WAI and the WAD in resilience engineering for the real world of surgical healthcare. Objective: Based on the resilient healthcare theory, we would like to clarify the actual way of reconciling the WAI and WAD in surgery. Material and Methods: As a typical model of thoracic surgery, we use a lobectomy case for lung cancer. We describe a surgeon’s WAI and WAD, and we explain the anticipating, monitoring, responding, and learning based on the resilient healthcare theory. We reveal the gaps between the WAI and WAD during an operation, we consider the surgeon’s thinking and actual performance, and we describe the actual way of reconciling the WAI and WAD for the surgeon and surgical team. Outcomes: We described three scenes in the operating room, which are 1) by individual surgeon: adjustment for intrathoracic adhesion; 2) by surgical team: adjustment for pulmonary artery bleeding; and 3) by surgical team with multi-professionals in the operating room: adjustment for life threatening pulmonary artery critical bleeding. Conclusion: In order to implement a resilient healthcare theory in everyday surgical work, it is important that 1) learning of incidents and the experience of doing well for unexpected events as lessons, and 2) constructing a circulation mechanism of anticipating, monitoring, responding, and learning.