Increasing recognition of adverse events in health care is wide spread. Implementing improved system arrangements, which prevent adverse events taking place rather than focussing on individual culpability is increasingly being recognised as a more effective preventative strategy. But does such a perspective mean individual health practitioners remain accountable for their practice? This article explores the philosophical, psychological and professional contradictions inherent in attempting to understand where the responsibility for our actions lies and concludes by arguing that while the case for (...) the system approach to adverse event reduction is strong, the notion of individual professional culpability needs to be maintained. (shrink)

A planetary panic and almost deserted cities, fear of food shortages, and the growing threat of an invisible virus that does more damage day by day. In the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, many believe that science fiction has now been overtaken by reality. In these times of adversity, what does it take to survive when the world comes crashing down? How do humans stay resilient, manage their growing stress, and somehow navigate through the crisis? More specifically, how do humans (...) cope with isolation and loneliness in the light of a global outbreak? What does science fiction have to tell us about this? For the bewildered population, science fiction has been recognized as an ingredient to understand an unexpected reality. In this article I explain, through the philosophical eye of Francis Lawrence’s movie I Am Legend (2007), how a coping skill such as imagination, in the age of pandemics and social distancing, can mutate into a “Second Reality” that fills the gap left by the former (pre-outbreak) reality. (shrink)