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| |  Anesthesia leaves room, normal??
I was just wondering if anyone else has had an issue with anesthesia leaving the room. Is this normal? I came from a very large teaching facility where anesthesia never left the patient. I am now in a small community hospital and my anesthesia provider will leave the room for many different reasons. When I first started I would tell them that I could have gotten that bag of LR when they return to the room. Some would say cool, thanks. But others would say that it was ok they can get it. Some providers would leave and not be seen for more than 5 minutes. I would look into the core and down the hall for them but they would not be anywhere around.
I was told that they do pretty much whatever they want to. I have been in the OR for 4-5 years. Am I missing something? Would I have surgery here? I don't think so. I feel like I am in a place that is not good for me.
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| | Advertisement Sponsored Links | | | | No. 1 | 
May 07, 2009, 01:16 AM
Re: Anesthesia leaves room, normal??
Wow- that is wrong on so many levels. Last time I checked, OR nurses did not have the training to troubleshoot anesthesia machines, give drugs without orders, so forth. What happens if a patient codes while the provider is out of the room? Big liability for the hospital- perhaps a call to risk management or the legal department?
As for not having fluids in the room- how far away are they stored? We keep about 5 bags each of NS and LR in the room. We also have anesthesia techs who are responsible for stocking anesthesia supplies and drawing labs.
Either way, I'd be looking for a new job- this is putting not only your patient at risk, but also your license.
| | No. 2 |
May 07, 2009, 09:02 AM
Re: Anesthesia leaves room, normal?? Originally Posted by poetnyouknowit  Either way, I'd be looking for a new job- this is putting not only your patient at risk, but also your license.
First, your license is not at risk because the anesthesia provider deserts their patient.
That being said - your anesthesia provider, whether CRNA, AA, or MD, should be fired. This is simply unacceptable. If the chairman of the department or chief anesthetist won't deal with the problem, take it to your hospital's risk management department. And I can't believe the surgeon is OK with this behavior.
| | No. 3 |
May 07, 2009, 11:52 AM
Re: Anesthesia leaves room, normal??
Thanks for the input. I knew these were the comments that I would be getting. I know what is wrong and what is right. I originally started at this hospital fresh out of nursing school. So at the time I thought that it was pretty normal. I left to go to a big teaching hospital after about 5 months into my training. I returned 3 years later with a wealth of knowledge, it was a great experience that included 2 trips to Guatemala.
So, returning to this hospital as a nurse with more experience my eyes are wide open now. Umm, the head of anesthesia leaves the room too! The surgeon has never really said anything about them leaving. One vasacular surgeon got ticked that I left the room to get something that wasnt on the card. But he doesnt say anything about the CRNA's leaving. I think I will talk to my manager first before I talk to risk management. It is a small hospital, word travels fast.
I am also committed to this place for a few more months, or I pay back the sign on bonus. However, I believe I only pay back a portion of it since my 1 year is almost up. If you stay 6 months you only pay back this much, if you stay 9 months you pay back this much. So it might not be to expensive to leave early. My sign on was $4000.
I am so torn because I want to do what is best. I want people to not worry when they come to our facility to have surgery. I feel like I am lying to them when I bring them back to the OR.
| | No. 4 |
May 07, 2009, 10:56 PM
Re: Anesthesia leaves room, normal??
Sorry, I haven't worked at a location that anesthesia didn't leave the room for something. I guess if they have to pee they have to hold it until the 4 hour lami is through? What if there is no one to relieve them. I guess I have no problem if they leave for a few minutes and the other 30-40 RNs I work with have no problem with it either. Our anesthesiologist always tell us when they are leaving and only are gone for a few. Fire them? I don't think so. If I need them I can find them in seconds, so being alone with an anesthesized patient doesn't bother me. This doesn't jeopardize your license, so don't worry about it. I guess to put it another way, this is a non-issue. Now, if you have no confidence in your anesthesia provider, then that is another problem. Good luck with that.
| | No. 5 |
May 08, 2009, 08:24 AM
Re: Anesthesia leaves room, normal?? Originally Posted by shodobe Sorry, I haven't worked at a location that anesthesia didn't leave the room for something. I guess if they have to pee they have to hold it until the 4 hour lami is through? What if there is no one to relieve them. I guess I have no problem if they leave for a few minutes and the other 30-40 RNs I work with have no problem with it either. Our anesthesiologist always tell us when they are leaving and only are gone for a few. Fire them? I don't think so. If I need them I can find them in seconds, so being alone with an anesthesized patient doesn't bother me. This doesn't jeopardize your license, so don't worry about it. I guess to put it another way, this is a non-issue. Now, if you have no confidence in your anesthesia provider, then that is another problem. Good luck with that.
No offense, but this is NOT acceptable practice. It doesn't matter if you've always done it that way, or that no one seems to complain, or that they're only "gone for a few, or how many places you've worked that do this. IT DOESN'T MATTER. If something happened to the patient while they were out of the room, they have absolutely no leg to stand on when a lawsuit is filed. ANY attorney would bury an anesthesia provider that did this because there simply would be no defense.
| | No. 6 |
May 09, 2009, 01:00 AM
Re: Anesthesia leaves room, normal?? Originally Posted by jwk No offense, but this is NOT acceptable practice. It doesn't matter if you've always done it that way, or that no one seems to complain, or that they're only "gone for a few, or how many places you've worked that do this. IT DOESN'T MATTER. If something happened to the patient while they were out of the room, they have absolutely no leg to stand on when a lawsuit is filed. ANY attorney would bury an anesthesia provider that did this because there simply would be no defense.
Chill out. Every place has their way of doing stuff and I don't care if you percieve this isn't exceptable or not. It seems strange that I can go to different places and this takes place and ALL of the nurses, with collective years of experience, don't find it a problem, but you do. 32 years, and counting, and there has never been an issue with this. So you will find that this isn't a big deal in most places, except your's of course. By the way, how long have you been in the OR?
| | No. 7 |
May 09, 2009, 01:53 AM
Re: Anesthesia leaves room, normal??
Do you want to be the patient on the table who codes while anesthesia is MIA?
| | No. 8 |
May 09, 2009, 08:59 PM
Re: Anesthesia leaves room, normal?? Originally Posted by shodobe Chill out. Every place has their way of doing stuff and I don't care if you percieve this isn't exceptable or not. It seems strange that I can go to different places and this takes place and ALL of the nurses, with collective years of experience, don't find it a problem, but you do. 32 years, and counting, and there has never been an issue with this. So you will find that this isn't a big deal in most places, except your's of course. By the way, how long have you been in the OR?
I have yet to work in the OR (will be), but I wouldn't be comfortable with this practice. So from the outsider POV, not cool (meaning a jury, lawyer, judge, and the JC might would think the same way).
| | No. 9 |
May 10, 2009, 12:48 AM
Re: Anesthesia leaves room, normal??
I've been in five different OR's since 1984. Two were academic, one was military, and two were community hospitals. I never saw anesthesia people leave the patients alone at any time at any of the hospitals.
My recommendation is to discuss it with your boss and definitely risk management. You need to make up a bunch of anecdotal notes with dates, procedure, surgeon, pt's med record number or name, how long anesthesia folks were gone each time. If you decide to stay, you want what's best for your patients. If you leave, you want to know that YOU did the best you could for them as a patient advocate.
I'd be extremely uncomfortable watching any patient left alone after being anesthetized for even a second. An old friend of mine once defined anesthesia as, "Hours of boredom punctuated by seconds of absolute terror" which was a joke, but certainly underscores the importance of minute to minute attendance.
I'm very sorry that you found yourself in such a place. What do the other nurses say? Or have they ever worked anywhere else? It seems odd to me that no one has ever made a fuss about this before.
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