Deirdre Breakenridge

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a huge fan of National Public Radio (NPR). I listen to “The Takeaway” and “Morning Edition” every day driving to work. NPR keeps me company as I sit in traffic for over an hour driving up the Garden State Parkway. I heard a great segment the other morning. A surgeon being interviewed discussed how a simple checklist in the ER and in the Operating Room could save a life. He told a story about a man who came into the hospital with what looked like a small stab wound about an inch long. Because the proper questions were not asked in the ER, the man simply stated that he was stabbed at a Halloween party. Within 10 minutes the surgeon said that the man “crashed.” Apparently, the doctors in the hospital were not informed that the stab wound was so deep it punctured his aorta. He was stabbed with a bayonet (it was a costume party).