Doctor Robert MacArthur Interview
Today, we were able to conduct an interview with Californian resident orthopedist, Doctor Bobby Mac, in response to numerous queries about his personal encounters with incorrect surgical procedures and intraoperative burn, as well as the topic of "events that should never occur".
Who is Dr. MacArthur?
Dr. Robert MacArthur completed his studies from the Univ of California, Berkeley with a dual degree in Biochemistry and Physiology. Throughout his time at the University, Doc Robert Mac had been a renown sportsman, engaging on both several boxing and rugby squads.
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Following that, Doctor Rob Mac registered at the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, and was the chosen head of the Columbia P&S (Now known as the Vagelos Medical School). Rob MacArthur went on to complete his orthopaedic training at Harbor University of California, Los Angeles.
Dr. Robert MacArthur Addresses the Incidents
Statistically, the frequency of wrong site surgery typically is a one-time event in a career for every bone specialist, but this number jumps to 4 per professional career for sports, hand, and spine specialists. Regrettably, numerous of these often do not record these occurrences, let alone, not address them freely. Doc Mac carries a intense sense of pride about how he confronted these harrowing occurrences.
Rather than attempting to hide the incident, Dr. MacArthur reacted differently
Dr. MacArthur’s Handling of the Wrong Site Surgery
Doctor Robert MacArthur completely investigated the causal factors of his dual events, and released several works outlining how to stop these occurrences
He eventually, earned acclaim as a published expert in the field of preventable accidents. He's authored two articles in the leading orthopedic journal, The Journal of Orthopedic Surgery. With the aim of assisting other doctors avert upcoming events, his initial article led the reader through precise errors that occurred that led to the incorrect surgical procedure.
His second publication, jointly written with Dr. David Ring, the Chairman of the AAOS, tackled the topic of the "shame and blame game." Assuming responsibility for these incidents is uncommon, as the common response is placing blame on other parties. Dr. MacArthur stressed that accusations not merely discourages surgeons from making reports their incidents but additionally takes away from the essential analysis of primary reasons that could potentially prevent upcoming events.
The Intraoperative Burn Incident with Dr. Robert MacArthur
When talking about the incident of burns during surgery, Dr. Robert Mac demonstrated the same thorough investigative mindset he utilized to his research on wrong-site surgeries. To illustrate, he reached out to the manufacturer of the faulty clamp to find out if like burn events had occurred. The manufacturer advised him that the clamp in question had been "discontinued." You can make your own inferences based on that what you will.
And to prevent irregular heating in massive hinged clamps, Dr. MacArthur carried out a thorough investigation of the causes behind inconsistent heating in large-hinged clamps.
His findings indicated that flash sterilization could lead to uneven heating. He pointed out that nursing organizations recommend strongly against the use of flash sterilization unless it's an emergency, like sterilizing a fallen instrument. Deeper examination revealed that the hospital at St. Joseph's was frequently employing flash sterilization to facilitate back-to-back surgeries without the necessity to buy extra equipment trays.
In a bid to avoid future burn incidents, Doctor MacArthur alerted St. Joseph's of potential dangers associated with continuing to use this particular clamp and also the regular use of rapid sterilization.
Instead of blaming the clamp, Dr. MacArthur assumed accountability and made it clear that he had committed a surgical error. He was notified that the clamp was hot, but when he grasped it, he found the handles to be at a tolerable temperature. Differing from some surgeons who might impatiently use a towel to grip a too-hot clamp, he carried out the procedure the clamp without any discomfort.
Shame and Blame, Dr. Robert MacArthur's Response
In The perspective of Dr. MacArthur on response on the topic of the "culture of blame and shame," he spotlights how the legal and the wider public often mix up the "captain of the ship'' concept with analyzing the fundamental causes. According to this "captain of the ship" perspective, the surgeon is held accountable for any unfavorable outcomes that occur to a patient under their care. This makes it enticing for many to solely blame the surgeon for any wrong site event.
Nevertheless, Dr. MacArthur stresses that this perspective contradicts the fundamental principles of investigating root causes. This form of analysis intends to comprehensively grasp what caused a wrong site event in order to optimaly stop similar incidents in the future. By resorting to blaming and shaming, not only does it hinder proper root cause analysis, but it additionally prevents other surgeons from reporting on their own wrong site events, afraid of the repercussions.
He didn't recognize that the sizeable, hinge-like hinge of the clamp was significantly hotter. When he positioned the clamp against the shin area of the patient's leg, it caused a burn injury. At the time, he was proctored for procedural privileges at Children's Hospital of Orange County during the incident, and none of the proctor nor Dr. Robert MacArthur were immediately aware of the burn.
It wasn't until after he had dictated the operative report that a recovery room nurse noticed a small red area on the anterior aspect of the patient's leg. Even then, he did not at first fully grasp the seriousness of the burn.
Dr. Robert MacArthur references the aviation sector as an outstanding case of successful root cause analysis. From its inception, air travel industry has aimed to comprehensively grasp the reasons behind each adverse aviation event rather than merely assigning blame to the pilot. Because of this dedication to understanding root causes, aviation sector boasts remarkable safety records.
Nonetheless, Doctor MacArthur laments that the medical community hasn't been able to fully adopt root cause analysis due to prevailing legal and public perceptions surrounding the "in-command" concept. The sad consequence of this is that the frequency of avoidable medical mistakes remains unchanged, and the professional careers and reputations of many medical professionals are unjustly tarnished.
The frequency of surgical errors continues at an disturbing rate of one event per surgeon per career, and as high as four occurrences per surgeon's career for specialists in hand, spine, and sports.
Dr. Robert MacArthur “Sexual Harassment” Allegations
As of 2023, it is feasible to bring forth false accusations against someone, smear their name and reputation, and have no negative repercussions for the accuser. Regardless if the accused is innocent or guilty, an accusation alone is enough to bring about long-lasting damage to a professional's reputation.
Doc Rob MacArthur revealed that he opted to leave a workers compensation clinic because of possible unlawful practices on the clinic's management. In retaliation, the manager of the clinic allegedly worked with a individual under treatment to fabricate a claim, accusing him of "undressing in the clinic and soliciting sexual favors in return for a positive workers' compensation report.
He received information of this allegation over a year after his departure from the clinic, at which point he asserted on undergoing a lie detector test. The accuser, however, opted not to take such a test.
Doctor Dr. Robert MacArthur Bobby MacArthur was later notified that both his truth verification test results and the accuser's refusal to participate would be considered inadmissible in court.
The attorney facilitating the mediation cautioned him that the jury would likely be composed of "people with similar backgrounds and experiences as her" and not his, meaning a court loss could be extremely detrimental. Despite the ridiculousness of the claim, he was counseled to settle for $29,000
Conclusion
The Medical Board of California examined the accuser's claims and found them to be "lacking credibility," hinting at an ongoing investigation into the clinic. When we spoke to Dr. MacArthur, he implied that the clinic was indicted, but he did not verify this.
Regardless of the information provided earlier, Dr. MacArthur found no means to eliminate the allegations made by the accuser from search engine results. Consequently, despite his lack of guilt, the slander campaign was effective.
Since the claim does not state that Dr. MacArthur was found guilty, it merely functions as a summary of a complaint, which continues to be available to the public
Dr. Robert MacArthur strongly believes that people making false claims should receive punishments equivalent to the consequences of the falsely claimed event. To illustrate, he thinks that his false accuser should be considered to be a sex offender and felon.
Doctor MacArthur concluded by thinking about the existence of both good and evil in the world, hoping that those who read his account would never encounter with someone capable of such harmful baseless allegations as he has faced.