you mandate training? If so, did it go well or poorly? Remembering
how people responded last time will give you some insight as to how
far you can push the envelope.
12. Do you have anesthesiologists who are also ICU intensivists? ICU
people are comfortable with silent ventilators and/or the kind where
you don't see a bellows going up and down. Instead, they rely on arti-
ficial sound and movement, or no sound at all. But some providers
aren't comfortable using the newer machines with their hidden pis-
tons, spinning turbines and injected gasses.
13. Are you doing any training? If you're working with students,
SRNAs, residents or anesthesia assistants, you can face a dilemma.
On one hand, there's merit to having all the machines the same, to
make learning easier and standardized. On the other, you may want
some variation for teaching. When all machines are the same, stu-
dents can learn quickly and instructors can learn to teach quickly.
With multiple machines, they and their instructors may feel as if
they're just pressing buttons without really understanding how the
machines work.
Armed and less dangerous
Your anesthesia machine is one of the bigger purchases you'll make.
Arming yourself with some background knowledge and the ability to
ask the right questions can help you be confident you'll make the right
choice. OSM
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O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 | O U T P A T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T
Dr. Olympio (molympio@wakehealth.edu) is an anesthesiologist at Wake Forest Baptist Health
and a professor of anesthesiology with tenure at Wake Forest School of Medicine.
