Risk

The diagnostic criteria of brain stem death is so important (and complicated) that we should not rely on the memory of any doctor.

In other words, we should prepare standard protocol and checklist to ensure all criteria are checked - and checked properly. Every time when there is such a patient, we put that sheet in the case record and follow the procedure line-by-line, and we put a tick on each of the criteria once checked. Yes, in fact this kind of checklist is widely in active use.

This is a simple principle of risk management.

You may say, "But there's no harm to be able to remember the criteria !"

No, there is harm. Think: there would be no risk if you do not remember the criteria - just follow the checklist. Risk would only set in when someone believe they remember the criteria and act accordingly - without referring to the paper.

(To my surprise, I was surrounded by a sea of HA consultants in Aberdeen - many of them being die-hard fans of risk management in ordinary days - but nobody brought this up in the discussion.)

PS. You may argue most of the candidates would refer to the protocol in real life practice (probably true), and they are able to recite the list by a short term memory - an indicator that they have seriously prepared for the examination. Friends, we are looking for mature medical specialists here; there is no point to test irrelevant ability such as short-term memory. After all this "domain" has been tested in their university days already - during the study of anatomy.