Trusted Care: Thinking outside of the box

An elderly patient came to Malcolm Grow Medical Clinics and Surgery Center’s Emergent Care Center on Joint Base Andrews. She complained that she could not take her rings off and her finger was very swollen. Once she was seen by Capt. (Dr.) Drew Shiner, 779th Medical Group Emergency Care Center physician, he instructed Staff Sgt. Daniel Shimanski, 779 MDW medical technician, to grab the ring cutter and cut the rings off. But Shimanski remembered seeing a video of a person taking off a ring using tooth floss. “I quickly looked up the video and offered to try the technique to remove the rings,” he said. Shiner, not afraid to let his technician try something outside of the box, told him to “Go for it!” Shimanski and Shiner incorporated several trusted care principals in their approach that day: Duty to speak up; Respect for People; Zero Harm, and Maximize value for the patient. Each member of the medical staff here strive to be a valued team member. Working together they are making all the difference. But it doesn't end there. The technique worked so well that it is going to be incorporated into training for all the capital medics at the 779th Medical Group. One more tool in their bag to do their job better.