A BAD AIRWAY:

Usually we blame the patient being intubated. He/she was born with something that can can't predict externally. That patient has never been intubated before so no one has a clue how hard or easy this airway is. This BAD AIRWAY is one you tried to predict but was more difficult than predicted. Or one that is difficult to place a DL blade 2nd to big tongue, small mouth, or very anterior. One man's difficult is another man's easy as butter airway.

A BAD CAPTAIN:

One who goes at an airway without a plan. If I fail intubation, what do I do next? You don't know where the ship is going? The o2 sat is dropping, heart rate is slowing down, your pulse is rising. Your continue to bag the patient with BVM, and even after 30 seconds, the patient is desatting still. No back up/rescue oxygenatin and intubation device is available before committing to RSI. Believing RSI is for everyone. Even if you have an Ultimate airway device that costs more than $10,000, to believe that this rescue intubating airway device is more important that an rescue oxygenaton/ventilation device. The ultimate truth is that captain doesn't think of a surgical airway til its too late. 

WHAT IS IN YOUR BAG (OR BOX)?

What you allowed yourself to buy and place in your own  portable bag or box. Hopefully you are not limiting your Airway Arsenal to what your chairperson or adminstrator purchases for the department . Regardless if you work in the field or inside in the hospital, you need to defend yourself to save your patients from poor outcomes. Sometimes you need to purchase your own product, even your own personalized cricothyrotomy kit.

Inspirations/Mentors:

Richard Levitan, MD of Airwaycam

Ron Walls, MD of the Airwaysite

Adam Law & George Kovacs, MD of Nova Scotia

James M. Rich, CRNA of SLAM airway

Darren Braude, MD of Airway911

James Ducanto, MD of SAM organization

Scott Weingart, MD, EM/Critical Care of EMCrit 

Seth Manoach, MD of Emergency Medicine/Critical Care

Irene Osborn, MD of NeuroAnesthesioloogy, Mt. Sinai

George Benedetto, Paramedic

Fellow EM attendings and residents at Jacobi and Montefiore Medical Centers.

These include those who have met me in a room or I have seen in a room but read their books. You don't need to be best friends with someone to learn from them.

I learn from them and after digesting their books have come up with some ideas of my own, or evolved ideas or modifications of their ideas.

I hope you learn at least one new thing today when you have visited this website.