Scene Setter This experience happened doing my fourth surgical procedure so it was not exposure to a new or unfamiliar situation. I would attribute my abnormal behavior as a reaction to anesthesia, but unfortunately this experience has become a new normal for me post-surgery. My behavior took place after I received the pre-surgery anesthesia, and as I was entering the operating room. This was the first time that I was not fully under before being moved to the operating room. Something different happened during this procedure and upon entering the operating room, I experienced extreme anxiety/claustrophobia or most likely panic attack when I observed what appeared to me as the tiniest room ever. Psychically, I tried to get up from the bed as I desperately wanted to get out of the room and far away. I experienced a racing heart rate, my chest being squeezed tightly as if to remove all remaining air, and extreme fear as it felt like the medical personnel were restraining me while they placed the gas mask on, end of recollection. Fast forward to recovery approximately 8 hours after a normal 2-hour procedure. The procedure went as expected, it was post recovery where I encountered complications. [Post-surgery remarks explained to me by medical staff and wife] during recovery, it was as if I were …show more content…
Example of this is while waiting on an elevator to go to the 12th floor, or knowing I must use shuttle van service to the airport. I will use avoidance whenever possible by taking stairs, or ensure that I am seated next to the door (no obstacle or person between myself and the door). Flying is another example where I will select aisle seating to avoid the anxious feelings. Symptoms that I experience are nervousness, increased body temperature, and shortness of breath. I will emphasize in almost all cases; the feelings go away normally less than 5 minutes after the presentation
It is not uncommon for a patient to experience pain and anxiety before or after a major procedure or breathing treatment. Imagining the myriad of complications that might occur during an operation can send one into multiple panic attacks. Coping with the loss of mobility and independence joined by the pain that accompanies recovery are only a few examples of the complex and traumatic experiences awaiting pre/post-operation patients. Fortunately, a medication was synthesized by Armin Walser and Rodney I. Fryer in 1975 to aid patients by easing anxiety and promoting sleepiness before an operation. An added benefit was that the events experienced during the operation were also forgotten while the medication was still in effect.
Anesthesia was not used in surgeries until 1846, so prior to that the patient was completely conscious when they operated on him or her, unless the patient passed out from pain. Patients were unwilling to be cut into while they were awake: “Dragged unwillingly or carried from the ward to the operating theatre by a couple of hospital attendants (in Edinburgh a large wicker basker was used for this purpose) the patient was laid on the operating table and if necessary strapped down” (Youngson 27). The tools used in surgeries can be seen here. Anesthetics Anesthetics were not used in surgery until October 16, 1846, at Massachusetts General Hospital (Youngson 51). Anesthesia is an inhaled gas known as ether.
Vital signs give valuable clues about the patient’s status (Brown & Edwards, 2012). Pritesh was in respiratory distress, reflected in his low oximetry readings of 93% on room air (RA) and increased respiratory rate (RR) of 26 breaths/min to compensate for inadequate oxygenation (Brown & Edwards, 2012). Insufficient ventilation is caused by inability to fully inflate the lung due to built-up intrathoracic pressure (Panté & American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2010). In addition, anxiety and severe pain increase oxygen demand and impede the ability to expand the chest, according to Potter (2013). Anxiety is also an early sign of hypoxia due to hypo-perfusion of the brain (Potter, 2013).
In the early 1800’s, before the use of anesthesia, many patients with life threatening issues would forgo surgery and choose the permanent path of death rather than undergo a painful, emotionally scarring procedure such as surgery before anesthesia. When surgeries did take place, they would be performed on the top floors of hospitals so that the other patients couldn’t hear the screams. More than 8,000 anesthesia-free operations were performed in the Ether Dome at Mass General Hospital, coincidentally the birthplace of the first surgery “without pain” (Mass General).
Something as simple as taking a walk around the facility can prove to be a battle with patient X. From the day I met patient X it was noticeable that she was lacking her memory. Patient X could no longer tell me her name and everyday it would be different struggle, but for that day it was getting her out of bed to take a walk. From the moment I walked in and introduced myself, patient X could not provide me with her name. Patient X constantly asked if I was her baby, and when dealing with an Alzheimer patient, it’s always best to go along with what that patient is saying. As I got patient X up and out of bed, she started to become violent and resistant. Patient X took forty-five minutes to simply get out of bed and dressed, and that was the very beginning of the battle that would consist all day.
Although the comorbidities and type of surgery dictate certain decisions in managing patient care, anesthesiologists maintain various modalities for the perioperative period. These consist of anything from local to regional anesthesia, including neuraxial techniques and peripheral nerve blocks, as well as monitored anesthesia care with sedation to general anesthesia. Overlapping of different anesthetic types and combinations of regional analgesics to supplement general anesthesia occur frequently.
Have you ever wondered why you have no feeling during surgery? The reasoning behind this is a doctor called an anesthesiologist. For those who are wondering who they are and what they do, anesthesiologists are doctors who, after completing many years of school and training, work many hours to make sure patients feel no pain during surgery, and earn a good salary along with good benefits.
My interest in anesthesia came about like the wounded path along a well traveled hiking trail, one of many that looks enticing and is just right, but didn't reveal itself until I got myself through the hurdles along the road. In anesthesia I am looking for a specialty that values quick thinking and detailed precision, a field with the right balance of intensity and patient interaction, and a career that can challenge me to perform at the top of my abilities.
I seized an opportunity to quietly speak with her and she explained that she had not received an adequate amount of rest the night before and the journey down had been exhausting. She also expressed concerns about being fearful about going into the operating room. I overheard a nurse earlier ask the group as a whole if anyone wanted an ativan to ease anxiety and the group consensus was no. I felt that because it was unanimous, she may have been embarrassed if it was only her that requested it. My concern for this patient was for her to remain comfortable and provide any healing initiatives that would reassure her that she was safe.
This event was the first major clinical event where from the initial observation something serious could have occurred due to the bleeding and the fall, in which I was directly involved. I was panicked initially but knew what action to take so a hit the staff assist button. What stood out to me is how quickly everyone fell into their roll and cooperated as if rehearsed, which through their experience it was. I feel that this was a normal situation requiring the rapid action of multiple nurses that demonstrates how one person will have to take control of a situation and direct everyone so no one is doing the same task or assuming other people are doing something important. Like how in an emergency you need to directly point out someone to call
Have you ever been brought down by some incident that you never thought you could overcome? Scoliosis at two years old meant nothing to me. As I continued older, the curve was getting worse. My parents kept taking me to get it checked until the doctors said I should start wearing a brace to slow the curve, little did I know, that was not the end of my problems, only the beginning. After four years with multiple braces my parents took me to A. I. DuPont hospital. I went there for a year but then my parents ended up getting a divorce. I stopped going to the doctors. In the meantime, my curve was getting worse and I couldn't even sit for five minutes. My dad then took me to Geisinger where they told me I needed immediate surgery because my spine
How could one doctor’s appointment be so pivotal? My plans for the future had completely shifted. I just went to check on my fractured foot and they questioned the abnormal x-rays. Abnormal x-rays were not concerning having Osteoporosis so young. They asked me to walk up and down the bright sterile hallway. I thought I would be cleared to exercise, to my disbelief he recommended surgery to correct my “knock knees”. I was devastated just as I was becoming less cautious and playing sports that was going to stop.
The behavior that I chose and worked to change was, “Situational Anxiety.” Situational anxiety is similar to the mild “panic attack” scenario. Generally, situational anxiety occurs when an individual is placed into a new situation or if various amounts of factors in a familiar situation have changed, situational anxiety can occur. In one way it differs from panic attacks is, most of the time someone struggling with situational anxiety only expresses it inwards. For instance, it may cause emotional reaction, but rarely can others see its effect from the outside every time it occurs. So for me, when I go into work at Chick-Fil-A as a Team Leader, or when I step out on the mat for a wrestling competition, I experience some of the worst situational
The primary considerations in anaesthetic management of ophthalmic surgeries are the following: • An immobile eye with extraocular muscle akinesia • Control of the Airway with adequate ventilation • Hemodynamic stability • Well controlled intraocular pressure by avoiding raise in the central venous pressure prior to, during and after the surgery. Children and infants present for ophthalmic procedures from birth onwards. Unlike in adults, where most of the intraocular procedures are done under local anesthesia, general anesthesia is the preferred choice of anesthesia for children undergoing ocular procedures.
I spent most of my childhood years miniature town called Spring. We had an itty bitty house and lived on an extremely long street with a sinister name.... Ambler.... Moving on. The roofs were super easy to get on and my brother and I always dreamed of getting onto the roofs. We sat on our beds for hours at a time planning it all out. But mothers "always know best." But I guess sometimes they do.