Dr. David M. Gaba

David M. Gaba, MD is Associate Dean for Immersive and Simulation-based Learning and Professor of Anesthesia (with tenure) at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is also Director of the Patient Safety Culture Institute and the Patient Simulation Center of Innovation at Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System where he is a Staff Anesthesiologist. Over the last 22 years his laboratory has worked on human performance and patient safety issues. This lab is a pioneer in applying organizational safety theory to health care–including both Normal Accidents theory and High Reliability Organization theory.

Dr. Gaba and his team invented the modern full-body patient simulator and introduced Crew Resource Management training from aviation to healthcare, first in anesthesia and then to many other healthcare domains. He has been the PI on numerous grants and is currently the PI on projects concerning safety culture in hospitals and on applying simulation to address safety culture in a range of hospitals–from rural to large urban academic centers. Many of his fellows, faculty collaborators, and protégés have gone on to leadership positions on human performance in healthcare, organizational safety, and simulation in healthcare throughout the world.

Dr. Gaba has authored over 75 original articles and editorials. He is the author of 18 book chapters, and one influential book: Crisis Management in Anesthesiology (translated into three other languages). He has been visiting professor at many national and international academic sites and has delivered numerous named lectures. He is the Secretary of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation and a founding member of the Research Committee of the National Patient Safety, and a current and founding board member of both the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and the Advanced Initiatives on Medical Simulation. He is a current and founding member of the Committee on Simulation of the ASA.

Dr. Gaba served on the editorial boards of Anesthesiology, Human Factors, and Teaching and Learning in Medicine. He is the current and founding Editor-in-Chief of the journal Simulation in Healthcare, published by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare.

Dr. Gaba was awarded the 2003 David M. Worthen Award for Academic Excellence, a national award from the Department of Veterans Affairs as well as the 2003 Duke Award for Excellence and Innovation in Anesthesia Education from the Society for Education in Anesthesia. He was one of two foreign scientists invited to address Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at the opening of the simulation center in Perth, Western Australia in April, 2000.