I don’t know about that one. I’ve seen some pretty angry patients, especially those who are given inadequate pain management after surgery. Maybe the doctors just get more opportunity to express it. However, I think physicians are more likely to get their way, especially in a hospital setting (patient vs. doctor-who do you think is going to win? It would be nice if all such pairs could work together).

Also, pain is a subjective thing. Whether or not narcotics or whatever are appropriate after a surgical procedure depends on the severity of said procedure AND the patient’s reported pain. When we start to assign an amount of pain that someone “should” be feeling, we leave ourselves open to the distinct possibility of undermanaging pain. And such a possibility is a horrible reality to many, many patients today.

And I’m not an OR nurse by any means…I’m a neonatal nurse.

Take care,
Carrie

I hope your current place of employment is not that small hospital in Illinois – where they escorted me to the door when I criticized the surgeon for instructing the nurse anesthetist to “Keep the patient light,” [referring to the level of anesthesia ] which resulted in an aspiration pneumonitis that could have been avoided had my instructions been followed [ by both the surgeon and his “buddy” the CRNA.

I suggest to anyone who works in an OR, where I’ve been, to not mention my name- if you value your political longevity.

By the way-I was never sued-they were-they lost – and now, when I drive through Illinois I get a very good feeling.

Hell has no fury like that of a doctor scorned.

I’ve read several of your comments on this site, and I have agreed with a lot of what you said! Plus, I think we have place of employment in common – one of your formers is my current, if I remember correctly!

Don’t be so hard on yourself – your writing is very thought-provoking.

Take care!
Carrie

Who cares whether people agrees with you or not. A blog is about saying and writing what you believe in. It’s also a great stress reliever and a way to get rid of frustrations. Many come and read and never return, (most in my case), but some stick around and you can have some pretty good back and forths. You already know that.

Being chronically pissed off on a BLOG, keeps me from being that way with my family and friends.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I think you could have a really good BLOG if you tried it.

No there is no blogsite for me; much to the delite of most readers.

Take care.

No I don’t- I read Kevin once in awhile. I have written extensively on the subjects to which I limit my comments; pain management, anesthesia and some civil rights and constitutional issues-like the governments’ war on pain specialists who prescribe opioids. I happen to be one of them.

While my comments may seem overly critical of others-the fact remains that my rhetorical questions are meant for everyone-me included.

This case [ above ] in question, is sad for the child and family-and for the doctors. While I believe in what I say, the fact is, we don’t know how these situations develop if we are not there.

If you are interested in this particular case then read a standard pediatric anesthesia text on airway management for a child that has to return to the OR with re-bleeding.[ full stomach or not ].Also on the management of epiglottitis-which gives similar types of info.

Obese kids with airway obstruction are tough to manage. As a former ENT resident and anesthesiologist I faced similar situations.

Just because there may be malpractice in this world-doesn’t mean that a lawsuit will resolve it.

If the lawyers want us to be ‘Marcus Welby’ then lets have them start acting like ‘Atticus Finch.’

Best wishes to you – and to other readers. I’m the last guy in the world that needs a blogsite.