When I was a medical student and observing anaesthetics there was a matter I'll remember to my grave. The anaesthetist was a reputed to be quite good, though one afternoon he was quite distracted. The case was surgery in the belly IIRC. All seemed to be going well, so he starts to chat with the surgeon - who is busy mind you - about his hobby of flying light planes. He went on quite a bit about it and in particular he is very careful to describe the exact manner in which you take off from Essendon Airport ( in Melbourne ) and take a special path with his light plane to avoid traffic coming to & from the main Melbourne Airport ( which has heavies ). He talked about it for around a half hour and then the surgery and thus the anaesthetic, we think, finishes uneventfully. Now fast forward about ten years and I am now in my own general practice. Over a cuppa I am casually reading the 'naughty list' of recent cases before the medical board, as you do. Well a chap - an anaesthetised patient, or should I say apparently anaesthetised - had complained about an the anaesthetic given to him some ten years ago that was too light and what agony and distress that had caused him. In evidence he gave a detailed description of the manner in which one ought fly a light plane out of Essendon Airport in order to avoid the traffic congestion around Melbourne Airport. At this revelation the anaesthetist fesses up and he is promptly & definitively struck off the register. The negligence pay out was enormous. Quite rightly the matter changed how anaesthetics are given in Australia and probably elsewhere too.
Now, there is a guy that I went through medical school with, who shall remain nameless ( he knows who he is ). He became a specialist anaesthetist. Late one Friday afternoon he is giving an anaesthetic, and the cases have all gone on a bit longer than expected for each of them and so it looks like they will go quite late. He has a furious row with the surgeon about this, and then just ups and leaves the theatre. This leaves the fully anaesthetised patient in the care of the assisting anaesthetic nurse while they scramble to find another anaesthetist. Everyone is upset. Well, as you would expect, this matter winds up in front of the Medical Board and he is neatly struck off. The excuse that he had to get on a plane for a holiday just didn't carry the day. After all if you want to leave medicine as a career then you could wait another hour couldn't you ?
Cheers, Mike.
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
I was in a restaurant last night and I ordered Napoleon chicken for the first time.
When It came there was no meat, just the carcass.
I said to the waitress, "what's this?”
She said, "It's the boney part…”
"she. who must be obeyed" has
)
"she. who must be obeyed" has obtained a reusable covid tester. She says that results are invariably true.
(only 10 seconds)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Srztyr6KIGo
Richard
Kavanagh wrote: "she. who
)
Ouch!
That and "mansplain" are right up there!
A Proud member of the O.F.A. (Old Farts Association). Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.® (Garrison Keillor)
An old friend of mine always
)
An old friend of mine always said "The first rule of theatre is to always leave them wanting more"
Great bloke... Terrible anaesthetist.
Richard
Kavanagh wrote: An old
)
"Ouch" :)
A Proud member of the O.F.A. (Old Farts Association). Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.® (Garrison Keillor)
Oooooh, that's a bit to close
)
Oooooh, that's a bit to close to the truth.
When I was a medical student and observing anaesthetics there was a matter I'll remember to my grave. The anaesthetist was a reputed to be quite good, though one afternoon he was quite distracted. The case was surgery in the belly IIRC. All seemed to be going well, so he starts to chat with the surgeon - who is busy mind you - about his hobby of flying light planes. He went on quite a bit about it and in particular he is very careful to describe the exact manner in which you take off from Essendon Airport ( in Melbourne ) and take a special path with his light plane to avoid traffic coming to & from the main Melbourne Airport ( which has heavies ). He talked about it for around a half hour and then the surgery and thus the anaesthetic, we think, finishes uneventfully. Now fast forward about ten years and I am now in my own general practice. Over a cuppa I am casually reading the 'naughty list' of recent cases before the medical board, as you do. Well a chap - an anaesthetised patient, or should I say apparently anaesthetised - had complained about an the anaesthetic given to him some ten years ago that was too light and what agony and distress that had caused him. In evidence he gave a detailed description of the manner in which one ought fly a light plane out of Essendon Airport in order to avoid the traffic congestion around Melbourne Airport. At this revelation the anaesthetist fesses up and he is promptly & definitively struck off the register. The negligence pay out was enormous. Quite rightly the matter changed how anaesthetics are given in Australia and probably elsewhere too.
Now, there is a guy that I went through medical school with, who shall remain nameless ( he knows who he is ). He became a specialist anaesthetist. Late one Friday afternoon he is giving an anaesthetic, and the cases have all gone on a bit longer than expected for each of them and so it looks like they will go quite late. He has a furious row with the surgeon about this, and then just ups and leaves the theatre. This leaves the fully anaesthetised patient in the care of the assisting anaesthetic nurse while they scramble to find another anaesthetist. Everyone is upset. Well, as you would expect, this matter winds up in front of the Medical Board and he is neatly struck off. The excuse that he had to get on a plane for a holiday just didn't carry the day. After all if you want to leave medicine as a career then you could wait another hour couldn't you ?
Cheers, Mike.
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
The older I get the more I
)
The older I get the more I regret all the people I've lost over the years
Maybe being a mountain guide wasn't the best career choice after all!
Richard
Wow, we're in a dark corner
)
Wow, we're in a dark corner here xD
E pluribus unum
Since I am just back from
)
Since I am just back from holiday, I'm sharing my emotional state upon returning
E pluribus unum
Kavanagh wrote: The older I
)
"...Down in the Valley, the Valley so low..., Hang your head over, hear the Wind blow..."
A Proud member of the O.F.A. (Old Farts Association). Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.® (Garrison Keillor)
I was in a restaurant last
)
I was in a restaurant last night and I ordered Napoleon chicken for the first time.
When It came there was no meat, just the carcass.
I said to the waitress, "what's this?”
She said, "It's the boney part…”
Richard