Patient Safety

— We see them, we hear them, but we rarely react In the ICU, the fire alarm echoes in my ears. I lock eyes with my resident, her expression as blank as mine. A shared internal voice seems to ask, "Well, there’s no smoke, and I don’t see any flames, right?" Within a second, I’m back at my screen, hastening to finish my notes. The noise is unbearable, and the strobe lights just add to the discomfort. Yet, I don't really entertain the notion of an actual fire—these alarms blare all