3 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M A R C H 2 0 1 9
T
he 18-month-
old in the
recovery room
wasn't my case, but
then his care took a
sudden turn. When the
toddler became
hypoxic, the anesthesi-
ologist looked at me
and yelled for my help
because of my back-
ground. I'm a CPR
instructor. I'm trained
to offer advanced life
support to pediatric
and adult patients. The
anesthesiologist knew
I could help when he really needed me. And so, we went to work.
We were able to save that 18-month-old toddler who needed CPR,
and we took great relief that he made it through. I didn't think I'd
need to perform CPR that day, but I was prepared. I had the training.
We'd practiced the emergency drills and made sure our code carts
were properly checked and stocked for such an emergency.
When it was all over, we looked at how we handled the situation.
There were a few things we could have handled differently, and we
learned from it.
Take it from a legal nurse consultant. Every surgical facility needs to
Are You Ready for an Emergency?
Legal nurse consultant: Prepare for a crisis before you have one.
Legal Update
Claire Cyriax DNP, RN, MSN-Ed, LNC, CAPA
• PREPARE FOR THE WORST Mock emergency drills will give your staff the confi-
dence and experience they need to handle a real-life emergency.
