Smacc

For Ross Fisher there are things that scare him. And he knows there are things that scare you too. Ross discusses the purpose and effect of fear in medicine and surgery. Whoever you are and whatever you do, there are things that you are afraid of. It is not stress, it's fear, it's real and it affects us. Ross wants you to know, it is okay to be afraid. Being afraid is recognising a threat and realising that there is a limitation to your ability, and that you have reached that point. Ross describes three moments in his career that he has felt fear. Real fear, that was different to stress. Moments before operating on a preterm neonate of 29 weeks. Believing he had transected the common iliac artery in a haemorrhaging 9-year-old during a removal of a Wilm’s tumour. And being reported for malpractice by a colleague. In each situation, Ross felt fear. What does fear do to a person? It is different to stress. Stress in critical care medicine is part of the job. In fact, it is necessary to reach a performance state.