Anesthesiologist Charged In Strangulation Of Nurse

Leeda.the.Paladin

Well-Known Member
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)– A veteran Colorado anesthesiologist has been charged with felony assault after witnesses say he nearly choked a nurse into unconsciousness in the recovery room at Sky Ridge Medical Center.




Dr. Mark Randle Ryan, 56, told CBS4 he has retired as a physician following the Oct. 8 incident.

”I think it will be easy to show there was no intent involved,” he told CBS4.




According to a police report and witnesses, Ryan, who worked for an outside anesthesiology group and was not a hospital employee, was making rounds in the recovery room and was turning off vital sign machines in patient bays due to their constant beeping.

Ryan told CBS4 he was turning off the machines due to “alarm fatigue” which he said was “significantly dangerous.”




He said nurses are subject to hundreds of false alarms every shift and “after a while, they just don’t hear them.”

Nurse Beth Duche noticed what the doctor was doing and had told him “to not turn off the machines.”

She told police after the monitors are turned off, it can take three to five minutes to turn them back on. She told investigators that Ryan continued to turn off the monitors and she again asked him to stop.




She said, “Dr. Ryan grabbed her by the throat and squeezed Duche’s neck with enough force to where she lost her function to breathe normally… she was seeing stars.”

The nurse went on to tell Lone Tree police investigators, “She was in shock and thought Ryan was going to kill her.”

Another nurse who witnessed the event told investigators she saw, “Ryan with his hands around Duche’s neck and throat and squeezing very violently.”




She stated that Duche’s body was shaking and that her feet were “dancing.”

Linda Watson, a Sky Ridge Medical Center spokesperson, said Ryan was escorted off the property after the incident and his privileges to practice at the hospital were immediately suspended.

She said, “We had no prior information about incidences with this physician at Sky Ridge prior to this happening.”




According to police, Dr. Ryan has no previous criminal record. State records show no previous discipline against his medical license.

Lone Tree police say Ryan told them,”I just didn’t mean to hurt her.”

Asked why he retired, Ryan told CBS4, “I was ready. I am ready.”

He reiterated multiple times that the strangling of Nurse Duche involved “no intent.”
Ryan is due to appear in Douglas County court next Friday.
 

lavaflow99

In search of the next vacation
Do they have more ready access to drugs? If so would that be why?

That was awful. I hope she gets a payout. She was trying to protect the patients and in no way deserved that.

Yes ma'am they do. They are the only physicians I know that have access to the med dispenser system and administer drugs to patients. If I (as a pediatrician) want a patient to get a medication, I have to let a nurse know and the nurse does the administration.

They need the easy access because if they are in a case (ie surgery), they need to be able to administer various medications (and it is usually hard core medications ie Fentanyl) quickly to their patient.
 
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nysister

Well-Known Member
Interesting, thanks! I'd never realized that before. (Bolded)

Ah okay, that easy access I guess can be hard to resist if someone has a problem already.

I hope he goes on to do something else useful. It's a shame to have that knowledge go to waste, but he definitely needs a change.


Yes ma'am they do. They are the only physicians I know that have access to the med dispenser system and administer drugs to patients. If I want a patient to get a medication, I have to let a nurse know and the nurse does the administration.

They need the easy access because if they are in a case (ie surgery), they need to be able to administer various medications (and it is usually hard core medications ie Fentanyl) quickly to their patient.
 

Shula

Well-Known Member
Diverting?

My dear sweet innocent sis, :kiss:. Consider them the "crackheads" of the hospital, lol. No offense to all my very professional medical sisters in here but I've been reading about their shenanigans in getting high and suicide rates for ages, it seems. Worst case I can remember is one sitting at the head of the patient during surgery while monitoring and siphoning off (diverting drugs) and injecting somewhere in his ankle area in the midst of a serious surgery. We've been blessed to have wonderful anesthesiologists throughout our extensive medical issues but I promise you that quite a few are masquerading as sober, upstanding professionals when they are actually this when you look close enough:



Just like that blond dermatologist doctor lady that overdosed in a trap house or wherever they found her. We got one more doc I need to "fire" from my kid's team; I've only put it off because I want to do it face to face. I can't wait. Every time I see him, it brings back hood memories and he ain't even black, lol.

And please try to choke me out so I can get paid. :rofl:
 

cinnespice

Hello is me your looking for?
I don't understand how he was not arrested.
@Shula your right but that goes for some nurses too.
They like to divert medication, I have heard to many stories.
Let somebody like that touch me....he, the hospital and all subsidiaries he works for would have been sued.
I know this is not the same but i used to work in patient relations and a mentally unstable patient threw coffee on my co-worker. She did nothing just cleaned up and kept going . I told her next time so you know.........SCREAM and hit the floor from said pain from the "hot coffee" let them put you out for at least a couple of days for your pain and suffering. When it came to stuff like that i did not play. I was quick to call security if you start acting a fool I never had a patient put their hand on my but, please do so I can not be here for a couple of days.
 

Shula

Well-Known Member
I don't understand how he was not arrested.
@Shula your right but that goes for some nurses too.
They like to divert medication, I have heard to many stories.
Let somebody like that touch me....he, the hospital and all subsidiaries he works for would have been sued.
I know this is not the same but i used to work in patient relations and a mentally unstable patient threw coffee on my co-worker. She did nothing just cleaned up and kept going . I told her next time so you know.........SCREAM and hit the floor from said pain from the "hot coffee" let them put you out for at least a couple of days for your pain and suffering. When it came to stuff like that i did not play. I was quick to call security if you start acting a fool I never had a patient put their hand on my but, please do so I can not be here for a couple of days.

Yes, the nurses too. Probably the only folks completely on the up and up are the janitors and the lunch ladies. I'm just being silly and I know many take their jobs seriously and do the best they can but I have to say, we run into more that I would rather not have to not deal with these days. It's a stressful gig; I wouldn't want it.
 

naturalgyrl5199

Well-Known Member
Can we figure out how one goes from gently turning off machines (and why cause damn you trying to just kill folks?) to just straight strangulin' folk until they bout black out?
How does this happen?
Why wasn't he arrested immediately?
So many questions.

Hope the nurse gets a nice settlement check and a year off work....PAID. That would literally be part of my settlement and arrangements to work at another hospital and/or at the same hospital with a promotion.
 

felic1

Well-Known Member
A lowly nurse told a doctor to stop and that he could not do something. He went off on her and proceeded to choke her for opening her mouth to him like that. He was really arrogant.
 
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