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Take 5 for the John M. Eisenberg Award: Dr. David M. Gaba

We’re celebrating the 2020 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award recipients in this special Take 5 series. These awards recognize major achievements to improve patient safety and health care quality. There are three recipients each year: for an individual; an organization impacting quality care at a national level; and an organization impacting quality care at a local level.

In this episode, we are joined by David M. Gaba, who received the 2020 Individual Achievement recognition for his expansive career as a mentor, researcher, scholar, physician, and institutional leader. Dr. Gaba is staff anesthesiologist and founder and director of the Simulation Center at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. He also is a Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, and Associate Dean for Immersive and Simulation-based Learning at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Dr. Gaba’s innovative contributions lead the field in three areas: 

  • Invention, use and commercialization of modern mannequin-based simulation. 
  • Adaptation of Crew Resource Management (CRM) from aviation to use within anesthesiology was adapted by Dr. Gaba’s group in the late 1980s as part of simulation-based training. 
  • Creation and promulgation of multi-event “cognitive aids” for real-time use in time-critical, life-threatening situations.

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Listen to the other episodes in this series: 
Take 5 for the John M. Eisenberg Award: Northwestern Medicine
Take 5 for the John M. Eisenberg Award: Veteran’s Health Administration 

Audio Transcript: