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deleted162650
So someone sucks at ultrasound and hits the subclavian with a 22g (or 25 if ur trying to be careful).. Does the patient die?
No, of course not. I think you missed the point of that example. That was just the first thing that came to mind in response to those that thought I was saying you needed to be cavalier to be a good doc. In reality, I personally would be OK blocking that pt. It's not the decision that mattered as much as the fact that one makes decisions based on actual scientific evidence combined with valid clinical experience and not some bogus "comfort" level which is invariably tied to the fact that the person who says that sort of thing doesn't know enough about what they are talking about to formulate a solid, valid opinion they can communicate to a medical colleague.
And of course you don't need to explain yourself, but I do see it as a professional courtesy to fellow docs. If I ask a surgeon a question about what he's doing/plans to do, I appreciate him telling me why he's making that decision, and I do the same in return. Especially these days with CRNA's claiming equivalence, I think it behooves us as a specialty to communicate in way that reflects our expertise. If you wanna keep giving answers that anyone with two neurons held together by a spirochete can come up with then fine, but don't bitch about being treated like a second class citizen when you give midlevel answers to fellow physicians.