Have you ever had your partner stare at you with an inquisitive look of confusion? On this transport, my partner did just that.

 

Side note- My partner on this flight was dual licensed as a nurse and respiratory therapist.  

 

After noticing my partner staring at me from across the aircraft, like she was studying a gorilla. She broke the silence with a somewhat odd question-

 

What level are you on?

 

And I, as any good partner would, gave her the perfect, sarcastic answer- 

 

“ Obviously, on a level, you will never obtain” 🙂

 

After tossing a flush at me, she replied. No, what level of Tetris are you on? You are turning that knob like you are lining up the blocks! There is no need to be constantly fooling with the vent and making changes. Before making further changes, let the patient catch up with the previous settings. I was confused because I thought I was doing the right thing. 

 

She decided to make the concept more relatable, as any good partner would:

 

“ Bryan, what if I came over there and kneed you in the groin? Would you just get back up, or need time to catch your breath? (She was a fantastic partner).

 

I answered: “ Obviously, I would need some time.” 

 

“Well, if you need time to recover, so do your patient’s lungs. Give the patient’s lungs and body time to respond to the changes. The patient’s condition will determine the length of time to wait. But I can promise you, they don’t require second-to-second or minute-to-minute adjustments.”