Page 32 - Sharpening the Focus at UHN

PURPOSE, VALUES AND PRINCIPLES
Apr/16 May/16 Jun/16 Jul/16
Aug/16 Sept/16 Oct/16 Nov/16 Dec/16 Jan/17 Feb/17 Mar/17
PURPOSE, VALUES AND PRINCIPLES
Dr. Runjan Chetty discusses his error of
distraction: ‘It was an awful feeling.’
CLINICAL OPTIMIZATION
It was a number of years ago, before
Dr. Runjan Chetty became Interim
CARING SAFELY
Medical Director of the Laboratory
Medicine Program at UHN. He was
known for an open door policy in his
office, so several colleagues came in seeking his input
PATIENT EXPERIENCE
on a lab initiative as Dr. Chetty was reviewing a patient’s
pathology case.
“While we all think we can multi-task, we’re really not
very good at it,” Dr. Chetty says now. “We can manage
our time to do multiple things throughout a day,
TEAM ENGAGEMENT
but doing even two things simultaneously leaves us
unnecessarily susceptible to errors.”
That day, the conversation in his office eventually
required some mediation. Dr. Chetty weighed in
IT TRANSFORMATION
and offered his opinion while finishing up the
pathology report, sending the results to the patient’s
treating physician.
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
MICHENER INTEGRATION
Dr. Runjan Chetty, Interim Medical Director of UHN’s Laboratory Medicine
Program, speaks out about his “error of distraction” and emphasizes vigilance
even when performing the most routine clinical work. (Photo: UHN)
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CARING SAFELY
PATIENT EXPERIENCE
Apr/16 May/16 Jun/16 Jul/16
Aug/16 Sept/16 Oct/16 Nov/16 Dec/16 Jan/17 Feb/17 Mar/17
CLINICAL OPTIMIZATION
TEAM ENGAGEMENT
Rare surgery sees patient’s mechanical
cardiac pump removed after failing
IT TRANSFORMATION
heart recovers
Problem was, he left out the most important part of the
report – the diagnosis.
And it wasn’t until several weeks later that Dr. Chetty Every moment of your life is a second some prior risk factors that led to this. As a result,
realized his error. chance. Just ask Marcel Powell. Marcel underwent bypass surgery and subsequently
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
The last thing the 27-year-old musician needed a mechanical cardiac assist device to maintain
The “cliff-hanger” report revealed itself when a new remembers before fainting in the his heart function.”
case came in from the same patient. It was a different waiting room of the Hamilton General On May 28, 2015, cardiovascular surgeon Dr. William
biopsy sample this time, and when Dr. Chetty looked Hospital in May of 2015 is being with his goddaughter Stansfield and a multidisciplinary team performed a
at the patient’s previous pathology report, signed out
by him, he saw the abrupt conclusion – he left out the and his fiancée, Maria. He awoke five days later in a delicate operation to implant the mechanical heart on
MICHENER INTEGRATION
diagnosis. hospital bed at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (PMCC) Marcel’s left ventricle, the lower chamber of the heart
with a mechanical pump secured to his heart. that receives blood from the left atrium and pumps it
“It was an awful feeling,” he says. “Realizing you made “Marcel came to us in a severely compromised state,” out under high pressure through the aorta to the body.
a mistake that causes worry and uncertainty for a recalls Dr. Vivek Rao, Division Head, Cardiovascular The device uses a tiny, continuously-moving propeller
patient and their family is difficult to accept as a
healthcare provider.” Surgery at the PMCC. “He was put on immediate life to help blood flow. The mechanical heart would support
support to maintain blood flow and oxygenation to his Marcel’s damaged heart until its function recovered or
Link to full story: click here. body’s vital organs. until a matching donor heart could be found.
“He had several blockages in his coronary arteries,
which was unusual for a man of his age. There were Link to full story: click here.
Also Making News Also Making News
Psychology Month: a glimpse into
Breaking Barriers: 2016
UHN Research Report the mind and body
Toronto General Hospital teams
‘You can get through it’ rise to occasion when volumes
– patient shares her story surge
for World Cancer Day
Researchers report first-known
Dr. Furlan leads WHO case of CTE in patient with no
rehab guidelines known head trauma
Marcel Powell, with his wife, Maria, on their wedding day, is only
the second Peter Munk Cardiac Centre patient to have undergone
explant surgery, which involved removing the mechanical heart he
was implanted with, after doctors determined that his own heart
function had recovered successfully. (Photo: Courtesy Marcel Powell)
Sharpening the Focus at UHN Year in Review 2016 – 2017 33