Hospitals and ASCs are always planning for disaster response, but there is virtually no way this OR team could have fully prepared for this one. What’s remarkable, however, is how the team instinctively reacted in the moment as a powerful earthquake struck Kumamoto General Hospital in Japan while a surgery was in progress.
This video posted by the BBC (we wish we could have embedded it here) shows the moment the earthquake hit. Watch as the team members immediately and selflessly move to protect the patient, shielding their body while securing equipment as best they could to prevent it from crashing into the patient.
Most people in this situation would have simply panicked or run for their lives. This OR team displayed extraordinary cool in an incredibly disorienting and sudden moment to protect their patient from harm.
Through their dedication to patient safety and wellbeing, surgical teams create miracles for those in their care every day. And sometimes, they’re absolutely heroic.
It’s just what OR teams do. And it’s one of so many reasons why we have the greatest respect for the profession.
