To the Editor

After reading the letter concerning the surgeon patient I felt like I would have PONV for him. That was a case of non-professionalism. I know that we are all short on time, but I always introduce myself as the anesthesiologist and ask if there are any questions before explaining the type of anesthetic to be used. The whole scenario was poor perioperative care.

Whenever I have a colleague as a patient, I try to do the case myself, just out of courtesy, but if I am unable to do it personally, I ask one of our senior residents to do the case.

My wife (also a physician) had a similar experience at one of the local hospitals, but the anesthesiologist came by to mention his name once. I had surgery 3 weeks ago at our hospital, and one of my colleagues put in the block and stayed with me for the entire case. It was truly great to have him present.

I would like to think that we are all professionals and not just technicians.

Joseph L. Skibba, MD, PhD
Albuquerque, NM