Character Today
The Stakes Are High
Doctors at a university hospital had to give a second heart-lung transplant to a 17-year-old girl. The original donor's blood type did not match, and the girl's immune system quickly rejected the first heart-lung set.
This mistake lowered the girl's first-year survival chance, wasted organs that might have saved one of nearly 200 patients still on the heart-lung transplant list, and tarnished the reputations of many innocent people. The university hospital established further safeguards to prevent similar mistakes in the future, but the damage had already occurred in this case.
A truck driver took his eyes off the road as he reached for the cellular phone he had dropped. By the time he looked up again, he could not avoid rear-ending a school bus. The impact killed a 5-year-old girl, seriously injured the girl's mother, and sent the bus careening through some front yards. Alertness could have prevented this tragic death and spared the truck driver criminal charges.
Few human errors provoke stronger reaction or have more immediate repercussions than medical mistakes or automobile accidents. However, the details of ordinary pursuits from stocking shelves to wiring houses also require alertness.
We train our minds to see by establishing what is important and understanding what response the situation requires. This process allows us to respond quickly when necessary and avoid needless distractions.
Our eyes, ears, skin, and other sensory organs collect and send signals through the nervous system to our brains. Inside our brain stems, a small, complex system of nerves called the reticular activating system (RAS) filters and prioritizes incoming signals so that we are not barraged with too much sensory information.
It is difficult to determine exactly how the RAS "knows" which signals are important. Novelty appears to be one factor. A new, strange, or unusual sight or sound often receives immediate attention. How we have responded to something in the past also seems to influence the priority our minds will give to that thing. Thus, the signals we immediately act upon will get more attention when we next encounter them.
Hospitals can encourage alertness among their staff by establishing guidelines for verifying the identity of donated organs. A trucker could practice alertness by keeping his eyes on the road while driving. A heavy equipment operator demonstrates alertness by carefully checking engine oil and hydraulic fluid levels each day and by watching out for overhead electrical lines or other obstacles. A parent demonstrates alertness by taking time to observe the unspoken needs of his or her child.
Whatever your responsibilities, discipline yourself to see what is important.