In an article in ADVANCE for Nurses, Pamela Parker, BSN, RN, CAPA discusses lessons that she learned on the timely death of her teenage son, Logan:
On July 23, 2007, my 17-year old son Logan died after successfully undergoing routine surgery to correct his sleep apnea. As a recovery room nurse, I have often asked myself how this could have been prevented.
By writing these six lessons I learned, I hope that other loved ones may be saved, other families spared the agony of losing a cherished member.
Pamela’s six lessons are:
Lesson #1 – All Patients Receiving Opioids Should be Assessed for Risk for Over-sedation and Respiratory Depression
Lesson #2 – Clinicians Must Recognize the Signs of Respiratory Compromise
Lesson #3 – All Patients Receiving Opioids Should be Continuously Electronically Monitored
Lesson #4 – Don’t Rely Upon Pulse Oximeters, Monitor with Capnography
Lesson #5 – All Patients Should be Monitored for an Extended Period in an Unstimulated Environment Prior to Discharge
Lesson #6 – Medical Interventions Shouldn’t be Based on Human Heroics, but on Process
To read, Pamela’s article in full and her six lessons, please go to http://bit.ly/1JesC09
Pamela Parker has been a registered nurse for almost 25 years. She is a recovery room nurse and works in the ambulatory procedure unit at a hospital in Indiana. In addition to providing patient care, Pamela is a clinical educator and provides bereavement support. To help others with the loss of loved ones, she writes a blog “Hope for Grieving Mothers” (http://www.holeheartedmamas.com/).