October 1997
Volume 61 |
Number 10
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TO THE MEMBERSHIP
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| Pre-emptive Management |
The management of anesthesia is frequently compared to airplane
flight: induction equals the takeoff; the maintenance is the flight;
emergence is the descent and landing. It is with little surprise
that anesthesia simulators have been developed and parallel the
airline industry flight simulators.
The array of monitors that face the anesthesiologist in today's
operating room is exceeded only by the cockpit displays in our
jumbo jets. Fortunately, the frequency of anesthesia-related occurrences
is such that extremely large study groups are necessary in order
to dissect problems. It is in this regard that simulators are
most useful in recreating infrequent occurrences and providing
the framework for problem solving.
The above notwithstanding, if there is any lesson to learn from
the excellent work of the Committee on Professional Liability,
it is the fact that the individual anesthesiologist more often
creates the critical incident. Accordingly, more effort needs
to address the issues involved in teaching basic clinical skills
such as observation and interpretation of patient responses to
anesthesia and surgical intervention.
In today's O.R., residents may lose sight of the patient as they
turn their attention to monitor after monitor after monitor. An
erroneous reading may provide a degree of distraction that would
allow an anesthesia-related occurrence to become a critical incident
and, if unrecognized, would lead to an undesirable outcome.
Erwin Lear, M.D.
Editor
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