Systemic Safety: the meanings of behaviour in contexts of surgical care. This collaborative project aims to improve our understanding of interacting systems of communication, as exemplified by the context of surgery. Increasingly, adverse events in operative care are considered systemic rather than a product of system breakdown. Existing systems, and how they lead to adverse events, need to be made more explicit. We will describe surgical practice as a system of meaning-bearing systems, integra ....Systemic Safety: the meanings of behaviour in contexts of surgical care. This collaborative project aims to improve our understanding of interacting systems of communication, as exemplified by the context of surgery. Increasingly, adverse events in operative care are considered systemic rather than a product of system breakdown. Existing systems, and how they lead to adverse events, need to be made more explicit. We will describe surgical practice as a system of meaning-bearing systems, integrated from context to content to expression, and incorporating language and other symbolic systems. We will display the ensemble effects of choices in these systems and how they predispose towards or inhibit adverse outcomes through systemic networks.Read moreRead less