I make mistakes all of the time and most of the time I don't even think about it. But there are times where I understand that I am doing something that, if I make an error, would have a significant negative effect on others. At those times I check and double-check my work and I strive to avoid making an error. I may even have someone check my work, just to be sure.

In my opinion, this is difference that prevents be from being "inept".

As others have mentioned, checklists help in this regard. I am sure that there are other ways to mitigate the negative effects if a mistake is made. These certainly should be embraced and used extensively. If I make a mistake, people lose data; if the anesthesiologist makes an error, there is much much more at stake.

In regards to this particular story, I am having a very hard time with the attitude of "well, even an anesthesiologist makes a mistake". Unlike many situations in a hospital where something like a checklist would make a big difference, there are already procedures in place that need to be followed to minimize and in many cases prevent just this kind of error. In my opinion, it does not sound like those procedures were followed.

There is significant variance in how many mistakes different doctors make, though.