Staying calm in an emergency: remember your ABCs

Emergency and critical care situations can put a lot of pressure on a clinician. Jessica Nord, VMD, said in an interview with dvm360® that refocusing on the basics can help veterinary professionals keep their cool and function at a high level under duress.

View the video below for the entire discussion. The following is a partial transcript.

Jessica Nord, VMD: That's something that you're dealing with every single case—having to step back and say, 'What are the most important pieces of this puzzle that I have to figure out right now?' [Clinicians can] use the deductive reasoning and all those years of clinicial skills that they've developed, maybe not for that particular situation, but for similar types of situations to say, 'You know what? I have 20 to 30 seconds to sit here, take a breath, and let that adrenaline stop flowing, because when that adrenaline is flowing, that is when you are going to make mistakes.' You're judgement is going to be clouded and ultimately that can lead to problems for you and your patient.