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Dynamic Decision Making
                                Kyle Wescott
                       Mount Marty School of Anesthesia
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                                    Dynamic Decision Making
       Anesthesia professionals are required to be prepared for crisis situations at all times. The
ability to manage emergency situations is a skill that comes with time, practice, and
implementation of medical knowledge. Using medical knowledge to anticipate a potential
problem and assist with patient care during the anesthetic period. Anything can go wrong at any
time during surgery and a skilled anesthesia provider should be able to manage the entire
situation (Gaba, Fish, Howard Burden, 2015). However, the decisions and actions implemented
to manage the patient will determine positive or negative outcomes.
       As a new SRNA, I know that there will be times where a crisis occurs during a case and I
may not know what to do. Anticipation and planning is one of the key principles of crisis
management I plan to utilize in my practice (Gaba, Fish, Howard Burden, 2015). Planning ahead
and being prepared for things that may go wrong will minimize risk to my patients and will also
help me improve my skills in crisis management. I feel that the most important thing I can do is
anticipate and plan for things that may go wrong with the patient. Obtaining a detailed medical
history and performing a thorough assessment of the patient will assist me with equipment
planning and case management.
       Another step I plan on utilizing in my practice is understanding and learning about the
resources I have available to improve. When a crisis occurs, there is no way I will be able to
handle everything by myself. Knowing what resources I have available will assist me in
distributing the workload among the staff in the operating room (O.R.) (Gaba, Fish, Howard
Burden, 2015). I fully understand that my attention to detail will be tested in the O.R. setting
during the first few months of clinical. For this reason it is crucial that I take my time and plan
accordingly for each patient who is placed in my care.
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                                         References
Gaba, D. M., Fish, K. J., Howard, S. K., & Burden, A. R. (2015). Fundamentals of dynamic
       decision making in anesthesia. In Crisis management in anesthesiology (2nd ed., Pp. 6-
       24). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders.