Code Black
“Code Black” in Cubicle 23.
The doctor stood impassively before the wildly agitated “speeding” patient. She was ranting and gesticulating aggressively, with eyes wide and teeth flashing. Unsurprisingly, words alone did nothing to calm her down.
The doctor, in a matter-of-fact tone, told her that if she didn’t cooperate she would be sedated against her will – for her safety, the safety of the staff, and the safety of the other patients in the Emergency Department. This ultimatum escalated her amphetamine-fueled malbehaviour.
Instantly, six security guards magically materialized and swiftly swept her onto her bed. The doctor quickly gained IV access and administered a soothing dose of midazolam…
As she drifted off to sleep she said:
“...you wouldn’t treat me like this if I was John Howard…“
Chris is an Intensivist and ECMO specialist at the Alfred ICU in Melbourne. He is also a Clinical Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University. He is a co-founder of the Australia and New Zealand Clinician Educator Network (ANZCEN) and is the Lead for the ANZCEN Clinician Educator Incubator programme. He is on the Board of Directors for the Intensive Care Foundation and is a First Part Examiner for the College of Intensive Care Medicine. He is an internationally recognised Clinician Educator with a passion for helping clinicians learn and for improving the clinical performance of individuals and collectives.
After finishing his medical degree at the University of Auckland, he continued post-graduate training in New Zealand as well as Australia’s Northern Territory, Perth and Melbourne. He has completed fellowship training in both intensive care medicine and emergency medicine, as well as post-graduate training in biochemistry, clinical toxicology, clinical epidemiology, and health professional education.
He is actively involved in in using translational simulation to improve patient care and the design of processes and systems at Alfred Health. He coordinates the Alfred ICU’s education and simulation programmes and runs the unit’s education website, INTENSIVE. He created the ‘Critically Ill Airway’ course and teaches on numerous courses around the world. He is one of the founders of the FOAM movement (Free Open-Access Medical education) and is co-creator of litfl.com, the RAGE podcast, the Resuscitology course, and the SMACC conference.
His one great achievement is being the father of three amazing children.
On Twitter, he is @precordialthump.
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