I owe an Apology to Mike!

Mike has left a new comment on your post "Right From the Start CRNA's are Trained in Subterf...":

I am that former student now CRNA.

You have taken something very simple out of context and made up an allegation which is entirely untrue and insulting.

Like every drug I give to my patients I tell them what it is. They all know well ahead of time that versed has the property of antegrade amnesia most of the time as well as sedative effects. My patients are quite happy at the idea of not remembering. You may not feel that way but you should know the majority are very appreciative of it.

It is a serious allegation you make that I "lie" to my patients. That has NEVER happened nor would it ever and I take extreme exception to that comment. I do not understand where you get off making such a judgment about someone you do not even know.

Lastly, if any of my patients ever told me they didnt want something, regardless of what drug it may be, I would not give them it unless there was a life and death reason.

Slandering an individual in this manner is just unbelievable. I expect an apology.



Posted by Mike to No Midazolam at September 15, 2010 6:01 PM

It seems I owe an apology to Mike.  I misinterpreted what he said.  I have his full statement up on here, so that people can see where I may have gotten the idea that he was less than truthful with his patients.  He has straightened me out. 


Mike, I am truly sorry that I didn't read between the lines.  I am very happy that you inform your patients that AMNESIA will result from this drug.  Thank you, and I really mean that.  While I personally don't understand why somebody would accept AMNESIA as a way of masking pain and discomfort, I guess if it is explained in a certain way, maybe somebody would accept it. 


You did state that you didn't want to spend 5 minutes explaining your position...  Maybe you don't get how insulting that sounds to a patient?  Sorry, but that's what you said.


You also never said that you explain the AMNESIA or that not every single person gets Versed!  You make it sound like you have no time to explain anything (the 5 minute thing) and that you immediately give all your patients Versed.  If you have read anything else on this blog, you will see that my CRNA claimed that he had "no time" to explain anything to me.  (against the law and a lie)  Even though I declined any drugs that would incapacitate me, he said that he "knows what's best" (afterward, and also obviously a lie because here I am as a direct result of his actions) and proceeded to inject me with "Vitamin V." 

 The "good times" did roll for HIM!  He was able to get complete and abject obedience from me with Versed and then claim that my inability to object any more was my "consent" for the general anesthetic which I had also declined.  All of this was completely UNNECESSARY as I had the same surgery again without any Versed or G/A.  This is my personal experience and it DOES color how I interpret things. 


I have never been treated with such disrespect in my entire life.  Course I've never been to jail, arrested, gang raped, etc. so there are some other experiences which might have made me less sensitive to being treated without regard for my wishes...


Anyway Mike, thanks for setting me straight.  I am very pleased that what you wrote wasn't the whole story.  Your immediate and angry response is exactly what I would expect from a person who  feels they are being falsely accused.  Thanks for not making it PERSONAL and calling me a kook etc.  In which case my response would have been quite different I can assure you!  I abjectly apologise!


Here is the paragraph which I took exception to in its entirety; the passages I misinterpreted are in italics and bold.

"7:15 and its time to go to the holding area and see if my first patient is there. Once I find my patient I do a review of the chart and go say hello. I have learned not to say the word “student” to patients and I now say that I am ‘part of the anesthesia team’. When patients hear the word ‘student’ they think of a rank amateur and often get very nervous right away. This ends in me spending 5 minutes explaining how I have been an RN for a very long time and this isn’t my first IV! Anyway, then in goes the IV and 1-2 mg of versed. Good times!"

My interpretation; Mike reviews chart and says only "hello."  He has "learned not to say the word 'student'" and instead tells something also true, but not the whole truth, a lie of omission.  Just like my CRNA told me that "Vitamin V" was simply a muscle relaxant.  That's true, but not the whole truth, also a lie of omission.  (I have to add that the people at AANA agree that Aaron's description of "Vitamin V" aka Versed/Midazolam as a muscle relaxant was improper, and a false and deceptive description of the drug.)  If Mike has "learned not to say" certain words because he doesn't want to "spend 5 minutes explaining" things, wouldn't it follow that he might have "learned not to say the word" 'amnesia' either which might require another "5 minutes" of explanation?  (and this is a very common practice, look through http://www.askapatient.com/ and http://www.versedbusters.blogspot.com/ and see how many people fell for the "relaxation" line besides me.)  "...then in goes the IV and 1-2 mg of versed. (sic)  Good times!" 

Sorry, but to me it reads like;
 1)"Hello, I'm part of the anesthesia team," (an obfuscating description of role in patient care omitting pertinent student status and the only verbal interaction with patient.)
2)IV insertion, AND
3)immediate injection of Versed to ALL patients without explanation. 
     (The sentence states "...in goes the IV AND 1-2 mg of versed."  (sic)  So the IV and the Versed are inseparable according to the sentence structure.    You get an IV and you WILL get Versed immediately. )
4)Good times!   (No more annoying interaction with a patient?)

 Where is the part about getting informed consent?  That takes at least five minutes and isn't mentioned.  I assume that SRNA's aren't allowed to get "informed consent."  Is this in the chart review?  Wouldn't that be something to mention as in "I checked the patient chart for informed consent?"  This is a pretty important part of patient care isn't it?  Does the SRNA check for proper consent when perusing patient charts?  (and before routinely injecting every single patient with Versed simultaneous with IV insertion) The way this passage is written it doesn't sound like anybody got an informed consent.  I didn't either.

I still don't know what to make of the "Good times!" statement.  A total blackout of events doesn't qualify as "good times" for a patient...  For those of us who have recall of events transpiring subsequent to injection with brain disabling chemicals via Versed, this was ABSOLUTELY NOT A GOOD TIME.   

Anyway, this is merely so that people can see how I arrived at my "erroneous" conclusions, not as an excuse.  Nothing is out of context.   I made a judgement call based solely on what was written, albeit without knowing the rest of the story.  Thanks Mike!