What happened? And why? Do you feel safe at your workplace? Mark Randle Ryan, MD, a 56-year-old veteran Colorado anesthesiologist, has now been charged with felony assault after witnesses say he nearly choked a nurse into unconsciousness in the recovery room at Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, Colorado. According to police and witnesses, he was making rounds in the recovery room and was turning off vital sign machines in patient bays due to their constant beeping. (Can you say alarm fatigue??) Beth Duché, RN, told him repeatedly not to turn the monitors off, as it can take up to 5 minutes for them to reboot. She told police that "Ryan grabbed her by the throat and squeezed Duché's neck with enough force to where she lost her function to breathe normally... she was seeing stars," according to a local news report. She thought he was going to kill her. #silentnomore According to OSHA, 75% of workplace assaults occur in healthcare. Workers in healthcare settings are 4 times more likely to be victimized than workers in private industry. Why? Why do we have to "put up" with being kicked, punched, spit on, choked, groped, and so on, especially by our own people? Alarms should not be triggering anyone to strangle a coworker. In the setting of this, here's the question: He has no past history, no strikes against his license, no criminal record. He's not an employee of the hospital, he's a contracted anesthesiologist. What happened? Watch the video for my thoughts and info that staff has private-messaged me. Is this a symptom of a larger problem: burnout? Contributors include administrative distractions, paperwork, and the feeling that we aren't given the latitude, tools, resources, or support to just care for patients. Source
