Floating the big yellow bird today. (#swanganz #SCG #PAC). Always remember to “lift it, flick it, flush it” and watch the results on the monitor before you set it a sail to make sure you’re on the right channel and you’re scale is correct. #zentensivist @doc_BLocke 
Irony is I get flask for not doing bronchs where I rarely find anything and I get flak for doing Swans where, as in this case, I often find useful things
To elaborate on “lift it flick it flush it” just in case it’s not obvious: b/f you float the swan, check it’s response on the monitor: lift it (the tip) 10 cm & see if baseline rises accordingly on the monitor; flick the tip to see if you get deflections; then flush it to see if
You get a square wave with proper dampening on the monitor as described elsewhere - not markedly over- or under-dampened. Also, check your balloon inflation to enable later troubleshooting. Today, we missed the latter step....
Then returned to it when the balloon met excessive resistance on attempted inflation. We returned to basics. The problem? The “lock” on the balloon port was closed on attempted inflation.....
Swans are a dinosaur on many #MICU #ICUs and skills atrophy. You gotta think like #chess not #checkers and anticipate problems. There is no substitute for critical thinking in #criticalcare. #zentensivist
