ABSTRACT

The study of quality, risk, and safety in industry did not begin in the area of healthcare. In fact, it began in the areas of aviation, transportation, and nuclear power. Many of the theories and lessons learned were then applied to healthcare. One of the worldwide leaders in the area of safety and risk in healthcare, René Amalberti, comes from an approach which began in aviation and gradually moved to other industries including healthcare. Amalberti began his career with medical school, completing a residency in psychiatry. He then joined the French Air Force in 1977 working in aerospace medicine. In 1992, he obtained a military research position. Throughout the 1980s, he was involved in research on risk management and human error, primarily with regard to aviation. In the 1990s, he expanded his research into other industries including ground transportation, nuclear energy, and fishing. At the time, he also studied resilience, medical errors, and patient safety in medicine. He currently works part-time as an advisor on patient safety with the French Haute Autorité de Santé and part-time as a risk manager with a medical insurance company (Safety Leaders, n.d.).