scheduling with our physi-
cians. Instead of just having
choice anesthesia written on
our erase board before our
procedures, Ted now specifies
the anesthetic — for example,
spinal width nerve block or
general width epidural.
Ted reviews the schedule
anywhere from several weeks in advance up until the night before the sur-
gery to determine whether a nerve block should be an option. If something
seems off about the schedule, he'll call up the physician and say, "Hey, I see
you're doing this big belly case tomorrow. Would you like an epidural?"
Often, this quick check-in is enough for the physician to see a block is really
the way to go. On top of determining how many blocks we need to do, Ted
decides how many nurses we'll need to assist with those blocks (in addition
to himself).
He also meets with all of our total joint patients to tell them what to
expect with the block process. And for any patient who's undergoing a
nerve block, he'll call the night before to say, "Hi, my name is Ted.
You're on the schedule for X, Y and Z. I just wanted to let you know
we're bringing you in 2 hours early because we're performing a
regional block before your trip to the OR."
Ted also assists our anesthesiologists with blocks, teaches and
trains our nurses on block protocols (at least annually) and sits on
our procedural sedation team.
Is it worth it?
If you're on the fence about dedicating a full-time position to your
anesthesia blocks, listen to what happened after we put Ted in charge
J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 6 5
• AMBULATORY ANESTHESIA Unlike femoral blocks, adductor canal blocks spare the quadriceps so
the leg can maintain motor strength.
Brandon
Winchester,
MD
