Interview with Mira Höfling

Interview with Mira Höfling, Surgical Director of ZNA

 

As the surgical director of the emergency department, Mira Höfling takes care of almost every type of accident care – especially in winter, the number of emergencies is high. In the interview, she explains which processes take place behind the scenes as soon as a patient enters the emergency room. In addition, she gives an insight into the everyday life of doctors and nurses at ZNA and tells us how she and her team deal with stressful situations.

 

Ms. Höfling, as a surgeon you are responsible for the Central Emergency Department of the Kreisklinik. What cases do you take care of?

 

‘The emergency room has a prominent position for each hospital. It is our priority that this area is open 24/7 – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year we are the focal point for emergencies. The surgical area typically includes accidental injuries, such as cuts and fractures or acute general surgical complaints, such as appendicitis or intestinal obstruction.’

 

Is the number of accidents currently higher than in the rest of the year?

 

“In the wet and cold seasons, the occupancy rate in the emergency room is generally higher. In addition to typical winter diseases, such as infectious diseases, the number of accidents is also rising. Whether pedestrians, cyclists or motorists: Darkness and smoothness are major sources of danger.”

 

What happens when an emergency comes to the emergency room?

 

‘It depends on whether the patient is admitted by an ambulance service or comes to the emergency room on his own or is taken by relatives. In the first case, the colleagues from the rescue service have already taken a number of important steps, which we can start with. So here we already know how the patient is doing and have first indications of what could be the reason for the complaints. This is where we save valuable time. This is particularly important, because when using the rescue service, the emergency situation of the patient is often already acute.

 

In the second case, when the patient visits the emergency room independently, our medical work begins with the initial assessment: What kind of illness or injury is there? How urgent does it need to be treated?

 

After the initial assessment, we carry out the examination and treatment – for example, we measure important values such as heart rate or blood pressure. Examinations, such as ultrasound, X-rays or various blood images can also occur here. CT or MRI follow inpatiently if necessary.

 

Once we have all the results and a good overview of the condition and treatment strategy, we decide whether the patient needs to be admitted in-patient or not.”

 

Not all patients who come to you in the emergency room are medical emergencies. Do such cases make your work more difficult? What do you advise appropriate patients?

 

“In principle, we are there as an emergency department of the district hospital for serious to life-threatening injuries or illnesses. For minor wounds, insect bites (for non-allergic people) or complaints, the medical on-call service is the right contact person. In non-acute cases, we therefore ask you to contact the general practitioner or on-call doctor first. This gives us more capacity to provide urgent care and shortens waiting times in the emergency room.”

 

In emergency situations, patients often experience anxiety and pain. How do you deal with it?

 

“Take fears and relieve pain is arguably one of the most important tasks in addition to medical and specialist care. We are a shrink-wrapped team in the emergency room and have experience in addressing the concerns of our patients. Empathy is a prerequisite for this."

 

For your patients, the emergency is an exceptional situation, for you and your team it is everyday life – a constant stress test?

 

“A lot of things get used to, that's true. As a doctor or nurse, you can probably never get used to other situations – that's a good thing, it makes us human. There are particularly intense days when emergencies arrive here at a stroke or all available forces are needed on a patient with a critical state of health. This is already very close to you. In such moments, it is good to have a stable and caring team at your side. We have one here, and I am very happy and grateful for it.”