How do you approach a technical problem in the operating room? Give an example.

If anyone experiences a technical problem in the operating room, then their actions depend on the context of the situation. For example, do they have much time to act upon the situation? Do they have assistance, or all the tools and instruments required to hand? What is the nature of the problem?

In such emergencies, we would all do well to remember the words of Rudyard Kipling's famous poem 'If-', written in 1910 for the son of British politician Sir Leander Starr Jameson:

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise...

What Kipling means by this is the old-fashioned British 'stiff upper lip' approach to life, of taking disaster and triumph in our stride without it disturbing us on an emotional level.

If we encounter a technical problem, in an operating theater or anywhere else, we must not let emotions get in the way, as they can hinder the rational approach to a correct solution. For example, if we were in a building that caught fire, then it would be unwise for everyone to panic and run in a crowd to the nearest door. Much better to walk in an orderly fashion to the fire exit.

Think first, think fast, worry about emotions later.

For similar Blurtit questions take a look at How Do You Approach A Technical Problem? Give An Example or Can You Give Me An Example Of Any Major Problem You Faced And How You Solved It? Or you could watch this motivational YouTube film about how to shrink down a problem: