23/11/2025
Listen, when youโre in healthcare, especially in emergency situations, youโre going to face moments that make your stomach do backflips ๐คธโโ๏ธ. Youโll have multiple critical tasks happening simultaneously, family members in distress ๐ข, maybe even colleagues looking to you for guidance ๐ โ all while trying to manage a deteriorating patient. Inside, your heart might be racing faster than your patientโs tachycardia โค๏ธโ๐ฅ.
But hereโs the thing: you need to be like that duck on the pond ๐ฆ. From above, that duck looks so serene, just gracefully gliding across the water ๐. If you were to peek underwater though (please donโt try this, it annoys the ducks ๐
), those webbed feet are paddling like theyโre trying to qualify for the Duck Olympics ๐
.
Why is this so crucial in healthcare? Because panic is contagious โ ๏ธ. The moment you start showing stress โ whether itโs through your voice, facial expressions ๐ฌ, or body language โ it spreads faster than that norovirus outbreak we donโt talk about ๐คข. Your patientโs anxiety skyrockets ๐, family members lose confidence ๐, and younger staff might start second-guessing themselves. Before you know it, itโs a full-blown freakout pandemic ๐ตโ๐ซ.
I remember one time when a relatively new nurse came up to me after a chaotic trauma case and said, โHow were you so calm during all that?โ Truth is, beneath my calm exterior, I was mentally running through every ATLS protocol ๐, calculating medication doses ๐, and trying to remember if Iโd turned off my coffee maker that morning โ๏ธ๐ฌ. But what mattered was that ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ค๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐.
Being a duck on the pond doesnโt mean youโre being fake. It means youโre professional enough to understand that ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐. Itโs about balancing internal vigilance with external calm ๐งโโ๏ธ. Trust me, you can absolutely be screaming โHOLY SMOKES!โ in your head ๐ฑ while calmly saying, โLetโs get a 12-lead and some access, please.โ
And remember, even the most experienced providers are still paddling like crazy underneath โ weโve just gotten better at our poker face ๐. Well, that and knowing where the closest coffee machine is at all times โ๏ธ๐.
Adjusts imaginary scrubs and pulls up a chair ๐ช๐
Alright, let me share some battle-tested techniques that have kept many of us looking like zen masters while our internal alarms are blaring ๐จ๐งโโ๏ธ.
โธป
๐. ๐๐ก๐ โ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฆโ ๐๐๐๐ก๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐
โข Before entering any high-stress situation, take 3 seconds in the doorway ๐ช
โข Deep breath in through your nose, out through your mouth ๐ฌ๏ธ
โข โLeave your chaos at the doorโ
โข Pro tip: Hand sanitizer moments = free meditation time ๐งดโจ
๐. ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ข๐๐โข
โข Develop your โemergency voiceโ โ slightly lower pitch ๐
โข Speak ~25% slower ๐ข
โข Think Morgan Freeman narrating a crisis ๐๏ธ
โข If your voice rises or speeds up, thatโs your cue to reset
โข Nobody calmed down because someone yelled โCALM DOWN!โ โ๐ค
๐. ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ
โข Move deliberately, never rush ๐ถโโ๏ธ
โข โIf youโre running, youโre already too lateโ (except cardiac arrest โ then speed-walk with purpose ๐โโ๏ธ๐จ)
โข Smooth movements inspire confidence
โข Also reduces tripping over equipmentโฆ ask me how I know ๐คฆโโ๏ธ
๐. ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐ซ๐๐-๐๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ค
When your internal duck is paddling too hard:
โข ๐๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ: Are they becoming earrings? Drop them ๐ซณ
โข ๐๐๐ฐ: Unclench ๐ฌโก๏ธ๐
โข ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฌ: Steady hands tell a steady story โ
๐. ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐
โข Have a centering phrase ๐
โข Mine: โWeโve got time to do this right.โ
โข Others: โThis is what we train for.โ
โข A medic friend uses: โItโs just another Tuesday.โ (Even on Friday ๐)
๐. ๐๐ก๐ โ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ ๐๐ญ๐โ
โข Talk through what youโre doing calmly ๐ฃ๏ธ
โข Keeps you focused and reassures the room
โข โIโm going to place this IV now. Youโll feel a small pinch.โ
โข Not: โOH SWEET MERCY, WHERE ARE ALL THE GOOD VEINS?!โ ๐ต
๐. ๐๐ก๐ โ๐๐ฎ๐๐ค ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒโ ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฆ
โข Have a colleague who can give you the โtake a breathโ look ๐๏ธ๐ฌ
โข We donโt always notice when our feathers are ruffling
โข And return the favor โ weโre all ducks in the same pond ๐ฆ๐ฆ
โธป
Remember: these skills take practice. No one masters them overnight โณ. Even seasoned providers have days when their inner duck is doing underwater parkour ๐โโ๏ธ๐. The goal isnโt zero stress โ itโs ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ.
And hereโs a secret: sometimes pretending to be calm actually makes you calm. Method acting with more IV starts and fewer Oscars ๐ญ๐.
Now go be a ๐ฆ
โ The Intentivist
