She was referring to a neonatal patient that had a diaphragmatic hernia and had to be ventilated and ultimately intubated and set up on a ventilator. While this was the only time in the 14 years I've been at Shoreline I did this task, it was a piece of cake.
It was a piece of cake not because I have a ton of experience with neonates, because 98% of my experience is with adults. It's because we probably spend 60% of all our preparing time studying and practicing with neonatal ventilator scenarios. What do we do if we have a bad baby.
Being a small hospital, we all have to care for all age groups, yet we seldom get a neonate or ped in distress. So, needless to say, that's where all our research goes.
So, by the time it comes to where we actually need these skills, we are know what we are doing. It's like clockwork. I had the ETT ready, and knew vent settings, before the baby was even born. When the doctor said, "We're going to intubate!" I asked, "Is a size 3.5 ETT okay? How about 20 tidal volume!"
He was impressed, and so were the nurses, yet I never noticed. I never noticed until this morning.
When I have a bad baby I recall my days working at a larger hospital, on my first day, when I was told that if I ever have a bad baby, it is important that you, the RT, are the calmest person in the room. If the RT is calm, the nurses and doctors will be confident in them, and can do a better job at what they do.
RT Equanimity is an important tool, essential for things running smoothly in the hospital setting. When an RT is cool, calm and collected, it shows he's competent and confident at his skills.
RT Cave Rule #46: It's important to keep up on your RT Wisdom and practice scenerios occasionally, especially regarding procedures you rarely do. Thus, a well prepared RT is the calmest person in the room.
RT Cave Rule #47: RT equanimity is the most important RT trait. It allows the nurse and doctor to concentrate on their jobs instead of yours.
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