Preparation is the Key to Success
If I have a motto, this would be it. It's based upon Sir William Osler's quote "The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today's work supremely well."
Unfortunately, I didn't follow my own guideline so well this time. What could have been a simple laceration repair became a difficult misadventure.
A toddler between 2 and 3 years old had ran into the corner of a table, cutting his eyelid. I gained his trust enough to have him laying peacefully on the stretcher so that I could clean his wound. His small cut was scabbed up with dried blood, and I wasn't certain if he would require suturing or not. After the uneventful cleaning, his laceration appeared to be a perfect candidate for Dermabond. Unfortunately, I hadn't brought it into the room with me.
"Pardon me, I'll be right back."
By the time I returned to the room, the quiet gentle child had transformed into a demonic thrashing screaming maniac, far beyond the possibility of verbal reassurance. I had lost my chance.
I know better than that too.
Unfortunately, I didn't follow my own guideline so well this time. What could have been a simple laceration repair became a difficult misadventure.
A toddler between 2 and 3 years old had ran into the corner of a table, cutting his eyelid. I gained his trust enough to have him laying peacefully on the stretcher so that I could clean his wound. His small cut was scabbed up with dried blood, and I wasn't certain if he would require suturing or not. After the uneventful cleaning, his laceration appeared to be a perfect candidate for Dermabond. Unfortunately, I hadn't brought it into the room with me.
"Pardon me, I'll be right back."
By the time I returned to the room, the quiet gentle child had transformed into a demonic thrashing screaming maniac, far beyond the possibility of verbal reassurance. I had lost my chance.
I know better than that too.
Labels: patients
posted by scalpel at 10:50 PM
5 Comments:
kids, don't you just love them
Should have left that Halloween mask at home :)
The 5 P's of painting--"Proper Preparation Prevents Piss-Poor Performance". All the really important stuff happens before the procedure--if everything is at hand, the proc will do itself.
I say this, keeping in mind that when I point one finger, four others are pointing back at me.
ar.
I'll bet the on-call exorcist was mad when you had to wake him up.
Hey don't feel bad. I had the same situation once. I picked up the chart right at the end of my shift to try and "help out" my partners with the "to be seen" rack.
Well no good deed goes unpunished. The kid thrashed around at just the wrong instant, and Damn, the dermabond went right to the eye. He squeezed his eye shut and eyelids were now glued together. Not much you can do about it but apologize profusely, apply some neosporin and explain to the parents that their kid should be able to open the eye in about a week.
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