Disruptive Physician
DISRUPTIVE PHYSICIAN
By Irene Greenstein
Risk Management in Healthcare
Loyola School of Law
Master in Jurisprudence in Health Law
Dr. Blauhard's story…
The Chief of Vascular surgery, Dr. Blauhard, strode confidently down the central corridor of the operating theaters. Passing the open heart surgery rooms and the new hybrid theater he knew that his patient would be going to sleep in room 12, his room. The patient was lucky to have him as her surgeon. He had been vice-chairman of vascular surgery at a major university and had published extensively in his chosen field. He was viewed as a star. But he was not respected or revered or even liked by the staff at his new hospital. In fact, his behavior at the new hospital had been outrageous. He yelled. He criticized. He threw instruments. He humiliated nurses and technicians and even environmental services workers. He was insufferable to work with and for. So as he pushed through the doors into operating room 12 a sudden quiet fell and bodies tensed. The patient, scheduled for a popliteal aneurysm repair was fast asleep and intubated, sleeping deeply inhaling the agents that allowed the surgeons to invade and repair. The aneurysm pulsed quietly in the right leg, awaiting repair. The right leg was clearly marked across the front of the knee. But prior to prepping, the patient was rolled from the supine position into the prone position, effectively shifting the right leg to the left side of the operating table. As such, and with no one saying anything, the left leg was prepped and draped. The wrong leg was prepped and draped. But no one said anything. A surgical timeout was held but no one spoke up. They were all quite afraid to say anything. The surgeon asked for his scalpel and carefully incised the wrong leg…
This is a true story from a hospital in located in NY City. This event happened 6 months ago despite this hospital being of 100 US Best Hospitals and on the
By Irene Greenstein
Risk Management in Healthcare
Loyola School of Law
Master in Jurisprudence in Health Law
Dr. Blauhard's story…
The Chief of Vascular surgery, Dr. Blauhard, strode confidently down the central corridor of the operating theaters. Passing the open heart surgery rooms and the new hybrid theater he knew that his patient would be going to sleep in room 12, his room. The patient was lucky to have him as her surgeon. He had been vice-chairman of vascular surgery at a major university and had published extensively in his chosen field. He was viewed as a star. But he was not respected or revered or even liked by the staff at his new hospital. In fact, his behavior at the new hospital had been outrageous. He yelled. He criticized. He threw instruments. He humiliated nurses and technicians and even environmental services workers. He was insufferable to work with and for. So as he pushed through the doors into operating room 12 a sudden quiet fell and bodies tensed. The patient, scheduled for a popliteal aneurysm repair was fast asleep and intubated, sleeping deeply inhaling the agents that allowed the surgeons to invade and repair. The aneurysm pulsed quietly in the right leg, awaiting repair. The right leg was clearly marked across the front of the knee. But prior to prepping, the patient was rolled from the supine position into the prone position, effectively shifting the right leg to the left side of the operating table. As such, and with no one saying anything, the left leg was prepped and draped. The wrong leg was prepped and draped. But no one said anything. A surgical timeout was held but no one spoke up. They were all quite afraid to say anything. The surgeon asked for his scalpel and carefully incised the wrong leg…
This is a true story from a hospital in located in NY City. This event happened 6 months ago despite this hospital being of 100 US Best Hospitals and on the