I’ve gotten quite a few emails with guesses about the correct diagnosis in yesterday’s picture, but nobody has figured it out yet.
Here are a few hints:
I’ll give the answer tomorrow. Email or post your guesses below!
Figure It Out!
Here’s a test of your observational skills and trauma knowledge. This picture tells you everything you need to know. What happened, and what’s the likely diagnosis?
Answer tomorrow!
Source: Private archive. Patient not treated at Regions Hospital
Over the years, I’ve seen the trauma teams at quite a few hospitals in action. One thing I have noticed is that most just don’t pay attention to what they wear. I’m talking about wearing personal protective equipment again. It’s one of those things, like hand washing, that everyone knows that they are supposed to do.
There are two reasons to put all that stuff on:
The minimum equipment that MUST be worn is a cap of some sort (to keep your hair from falling on the patient), mask and eye protection (mucus membrane protection), gown (protects your clothes), and gloves (obvious). Shoe protection is optional, in my opinion, unless you wear Christian Louboutin to work.
So you’ve been lax with your team. How do you get them to put everything on now? It’s like getting your child to wear a bicycle helmet when they are fourteen.
The top picture shows part of our trauma team assembling before a trauma activation. Everyone is dressed. They know that someone will call them on it if they aren’t. Also, note the little pink sticker on the chest of physician at the head of the bed. We have a sticker for every role in the room (bottom picture). At the beginning of a resuscitation I scan the room to make sure everyone has one. It helps identify everyone and makes extraneous personnel stand out so they can be asked to leave the room.
Bottom line: Everyone has to wear their personal protective equipment on every trauma resuscitation. No exceptions.
Related post:
Forensic Nursing combines nursing science with the investigation of injuries or deaths that involve accidents, abuse, violence or criminal activity. Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE nurses) are one of the most recognized types of forensic nurses, but they have special training in one type of injury. Forensic nursing programs typically involve a broader set of skills, encompassing some or all of the following:
Forensic nurses find that their additional training improves their basic nursing skills, and allows them to derive greater career satisfaction from helping patient in another rather unique way.
Approximately 37 training programs exist, ranging from certificate programs that require a specific number of hours of training, to degree programs (typically Masters level programs). Many of the certificate programs are available as online training.
Source: International Association of Forensic Nurses (http://www.iafn.org/)
Minority Report In The OR
The movie “Minority Report” showed an interesting way to manipulate visual data using hand gestures. It required a special glove and used large transparent display surfaces. Microsoft has helped make this achievement both easy and cheap using their Kinect controller using a combination of visual and infrared imaging.
Now Siemens Healthcare has embraced this technology and developed a hands-off image manipulation system for use in the OR. The Kinect system projects an infrared grid into the room and records them using an offset camera. This allows the system to construct a 3D representation of objects in the room. The Kinect software can identify movements and objects using this data.
Siemens is using special software with the Kinect that allows it to detect and interpret fine movement of a surgeon’s hands in the operating room. The final product will allow a surgeon to browse, pan and zoom relevant patient images while they remain scrubbed and sterile, just by gesturing with their hands. This product will be tested in two hospitals in the near future.
Here’s my prediction: why will we need a big, clunky robotic system interface like DaVinci? Just have the surgeon sit in a comfortable chair, waving their hands to move the laparoscopic camera and instruments. I see especially interesting applications of this technology in military settings and in space!
Reference: Siemens Game Console Technology