Have you ever wondered what happens after you or a family member enters the surgical suite at your local hospital? Who are all of these masked people? Why is it so cold in the OR? From the transporter who comes to pick you or your family member up, to the nurse, the anesthesiologist, or CR-NA who meets and greets you in the surgical holding area, who are they? You are putting your life in these individuals’ hands without ever asking about their qualifications. Are they qualified?
Having spent almost 30 years exclusively in surgery, I have seen things that would make the general public faint or immediately call their lawyers. There have been surgical procedures performed on the wrong patient, and on the wrong limbs. Recently, a surgeon removed a healthy kidney from a patient who only had one healthy kidney and left the diseased kidney in. These incidents continue to happen today because of the human factor, our focus on volume surgery and our focus on the bottom line, money. And, it’s only getting worse. There have been many Technological advances in surgery, but there’s still that human factor that needs to be taken into account. Throughout the U.S. there’s been a lot of concern and talk about our health-care system in the news. The question you should be asking is, why? Why are these problems still existing today?
Although there are many health-care professional who have years of education and a college degree to back them up, not all health-care workers are qualified to perform their jobs. This also includes surgeons, anesthesiologist, and nurse anesthetist. Medicine is not an exact science. That’s why the doctors refer to their profession as “MY PRACTICE”.
