ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Medical error isn’t the most comfortable topic to talk about. Even conscientious and reflective doctors and nurses recoil from dwelling on these lowest moments of their careers. For patients and families, it can be exquisitely painful to recount the details of what robbed them of health, happiness, and life, as well as faith in the medical profession. Thus I have to offer immeasurable gratitude (and credit) to Tara Duke, Melissa Clarkson, and Nancy Clarkson. These three spent hours upon hours sharing their harrowing ordeals, and were extraordinarily generous with their thoughts and feedback. I never had the opportunity to meet Jay or Glenn, but I have been so fortunate for this chance to learn about their jokes, quirks, and loves, in addition to their sobering medical stories. I am honored to have been let into the lives of these two remarkable men.

Many researchers contributed to this book, and I am grateful for the time they took to explain their work. They benevolently answered my dozens of emails and scores of nitpicky questions about their data. An enormous thanks to Hardeep Singh, Mark Graber, Itiel Dror, Bob Wachter, Peter Pronovost, Martin Makary, Thomas Gallagher, Michelle Mello, Eric Topol, and Jim Bagian.

I am indebted to the great Danes who infected me with their enthusiasm and also welcomed me to their country of equally pristine coastlines and bicycle lanes: Louise Rabøl, Beth Lilja, Charlotte Wamberg Rasmussen, Frits Bredal and Martin Erichsen. I confess that whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed in my clinic, I sometime surreptitiously browse one-way airfares to Copenhagen.

Thank you to Ekene Ojukwu, Peter Mullenix, and Elihu Schimmel for sharing their stories. These varied perspectives enriched the book immensely. Jenny Vaughan and Alec Goldenberg generously reviewed some of the medical cases in the book, for which I am so appreciative. I am indebted to Kiran Gupta, who cheerfully ran a fine-toothed, patient-safety comb over the entire manuscript. Her sharp intellect and extensive knowledge of the literature strengthened the book. Many other researchers graciously responded to my cold-call queries, diving into the data with me, sharing resources, directing me to other colleagues. The instinctive openness and intellectual hospitality of the research community never fails to impress me.

Thank you also to Anna Falvey, Briana Crockett, and Katherine Nazzaro for their assistance with initial research forays into the Danish medical system.

I want to give a special shout-out to my colleagues at Bellevue Hospital and NYU School of Medicine, as well as my co-editors at the Bellevue Literary Review, for their ongoing support and encouragement. Adina Kalet and Ruth Crowe kindly allowed me to observe their simulation program with medical students and interns. Numerous other colleagues fielded desperate questions, and quite a few magnanimously juggled clinic coverage with me (and occasionally administered Epic CPR) when I was afflicted with cerebral insufficiency. I’ve been at Bellevue Hospital for more than two decades now, and I can say—without any fear of making a medical error—that it is a singular and stupendous place to work. Bellevue is steeped in history, yet relentlessly modern, reflecting the evolving world with peerless accuracy. There is an unstinting generosity of spirit that encompasses the staff, the patients, and the nearly three centuries of medical care that we share between us. I came to Bellevue as a medical student, cut my teeth as a resident there, and will likely exit only on a gurney. As anyone who has ever worked there can tell you, there is never a dull day at Bellevue. For that I’m ever grateful.

Words cannot fully convey my depth of appreciation to the staff of Beacon Press—though luckily, words are never in short supply in a publishing house. Helene Atwan has been my editor through all of my books, and is the master of amiable but exacting feedback. Her tenacious energy set this book in motion and thankfully didn’t let up until the last dangling participle was duly undangled. I am indebted to Pam MacColl and Alyssa Hassan, whose publicity and marketing work are second to none. The magnificent Tom Hallock retired, after twenty-two years at Beacon, and is still sorely missed. A heartfelt thank-you to the entire Beacon production team—Haley Lynch, Susan Lumenello, Marcy Barnes, Louis Roe, Sanj Kharbanda, Christian Coleman, Steven Horne—who transformed this book into an actual book.

Lastly, I want to thank my family. Naava, Noah, and Ariel have all achieved perfectly calibrated teenager ennui, which allows them to effortlessly tune out all parental opinion and advice. Nevertheless, love manages to weave in and out, and I relish every bit. This book is my first without the presence of our dear, sweet Juliet. Seventeen years in dog-years may be close to a century in human years, but it wasn’t nearly enough for us. Writing without a warm, black, furry body nestled at your feet just isn’t the same.

And thank you, Benjy, for your ever-steadying presence in my life. Decision-making in life—as in medicine—is complicated, fraught with risks and miscalculations. But my decision to be with you remains one of the clearest and best I’ve ever made. And, happily, that was no error!