To the Editor
I would like to respond to the reader who has softened his view on reading in the OR. I am in total agreement that the image we project is important. However, I am more concerned with honoring the oath we gave, to give each of our patients our undivided attention and total commitment to their care.
I have yet to meet anyone who can “multitask” outside of the tasks at hand and not have one or the other suffer. I cannot find a way to justify giving complex cases 100% of our attention, while the ASA 1 or 2 patient with whom you may be “stuck in a dark room for a couple of hours” be given less attention.
I can tell you without doubt the people who routinely read while trying to administer an anesthetic put aside their reading material during a “patient request“case and give their undivided attention to their friend. No other patient deserves any less, as they are someone’s friend, father, mother, or child.
If you are unable to keep yourself interested in your patients’ care, maybe you should be in another profession, one that does not involve life.
Linda Hobbs
Dalton, GA