Day 2 very thought provoking and emotional for everyone. Those who shared their experiences with medical mistakes and how it affected their family was very moving. In talking to Mr. Burrows after the movie, he mentioned that he initially wanted to cut the emotional scene in his living room when they were having a family meeting. I’m glad he didn’t, I believe this is good for people to see. As a physician it is easy to lose sight about what people go through once they are out of the hospital, an out of sight out of mind mentality. But this is important for us to realize and help us to remain humble and provide the best care we can.
As an Anesthesiologist, yesterday was really thought provoking. In the end, bad things can happen even when you do everything 100% correctly. Training in Jackson, MS we have one of the highest crime rates per capita in the country and I have seen my fair share of trauma. Often we have to go to work with next to no information about the patient in front of us and do the best we can. Even in these situations you have to have a mental game plan. Secure the airway, get plenty of IV access, and in most of these trauma situations place an arterial line to have a way to keep a constant eye on the blood pressure and run labs if needed. After watching the videos yesterday it was obvious basic principles even as simple as pre-oxygenating the patient were skipped. Whether this was due to oversight, ego or hubris I’m not sure, but it proves the point when you get cocky and don’t prepare correctly, mistakes happen.
In switching gears a little bit as providers we see the worst and that’s often what we remember most. It’s like the test analogy, you often remember the ones you got wrong but have a faint memory of what you got right. We have to figure out how to take care of ourselves mentally and physically. The number of physician/healthcare provider burnout and suicide was unreal. Always know there is help out there and asking for help doesn’t make you any less of a provider.