Day 41

If you are really sick and trying to die in the hospital, we have a whole lot of technology and equipment at our fingertips to help you. We are fortunate to live in a time when all of these things are available. 

That's the good news. The bad news is that a lot of that equipment has to be...well, inserted into you somehow. Sometimes through a naturally existing orifice, and sometimes through one we make for you.

 In a critical care unit, many times these procedures happen at the bedside and under duress. Your patient is not doing well, the family is freaking out, the doctor is yelling at you to get equipment, and  chances are you haven't eaten or peed yet that shift. And now you have to perform and assist with a high risk procedure that you may not have done for 6 months or more. Like helping "crack" a chest back open in the patient's room after open heart surgery. Or inserting a large catheter into a chest or femoral artery. No pressure...

There are many professions out there that have to perform under duress. Police officers, firefighters, airplane pilots, and the military to name a few. Fortunately, high risk situations don't necessarily happen every day, but we still have to be ready. So they drill. Cops go to the shooting range. Firefighters burn down old buildings on purpose to practice. Airplane personnel practice scenarios over and over again. 

So today, I started a new project at work where we drill certain Bedside procedures. I'm always looking for ways to get people engaged and enthusiastic about learning, so I sat and thought of how I could get staff interested. In the end, I printed off a fake name tag that said "Dr.Little" and affixed it to my existing badge. Then, I cut out a big paper circle and taped it to some gauze that I wrapped around my head like a sweatband- voila! A makeshift doctor's old-school headlamp.

As I walked onto the unit, I got some odd looks, but as I introduced myself to staff as Dr. Little and explained that I wanted to insert an arterial line into the patient in (empty) room 38, they began to look interested. I made them do the entire thing, from gathering equipment, to assisting me with getting sterile, to handing me sutures at the end. 

They did great. Not that there isn't room for improvement, but by the end they didn't need me- the educator- there at all. They were helping each other- running to get a supply or giving advice on  tricks they have learned over the years. 

So next time you get on a plane, drive by a firehouse, see a cop on the road,or go to a hospital, take solace in the fact that we are doing our drills and ready to perform under duress. Dr. Little will be sure of it!