This week’s education theme at The Alfred ICU is Patient Safety. Today we heard a great talk by the Center for Health Innovation‘s Stuart Marshall (@hypoxicchicken) on how cognitive aids improve team functioning in medical emergencies. Afterward we watched this TEDx talk by Communication researcher Lorelei Lingard (@lingardlorelei) on the concept of ‘collective competence’ in healthcare. In particular we reflected on how the issues she discusses are relevant to working and learning in our ICU. Individual competence is necessary but not sufficient, we must work together and communicate effectively to be ‘collectively competent’.