August 2016
Marisa
Lagunas
,
RN
PCAC-Pre & Post Surgery
Presence Saint Joseph Hospital Chicago
Chicago
,
IL
United States

 

 

 

There was an incident in the operating room where the patient's IV had infiltrated and the anesthesiologist needed assistance to ensure the patient remained safe. Marisa ran to the OR and was quickly briefed on what had happened. She was able to recognize what was needed for the patient and immediately stopped the infiltrated IV and instructed the medical student to remove it from the patient's hand. She then grabbed supplies and placed a new IV. This was very important because with the first IV infiltrating the anesthesiologist had no way of knowing how much exactly of the medication the patient had received before the IV went bad. The anesthesiologist could not let go of the patient's airway which the patient was fighting to pull out. If the patient did not receive this medication and the airway was pulled out there would be a chance the patient's muscles would still be paralyzed and the patient would not be able to breathe on their own. Marisa did all this within only seconds; she was able to carry out actions that the patient needed to remain safe, actions that the medical students, residents and surgeon were unable to do.