Shirley Barker, RN: Witnessing a police sheriff’s death by physician -- and telling the truth

Medical Error Interviews

It is an open secret that hospitals’ standard of practice is to deny, diminish or cover up their medical errors. When they occur, there is often immense pressure from hospital administrators on employees to conform to a narrative that protects the hospital. The employee may feel that their job and career are in jeopardy, and they may feel peer pressure to ‘not rock the boat’ and protect their health care colleagues.

Nurse Shirley Barker found herself in exactly that pressure cooker when a police sheriff who was shot multiple times in a high profile shoot out ended up under Shirley’s care. Although seriously injured, the next day he was recovering and his family was in the waiting room while the doctor examined him. The physician asked Shirley to administer a medication, but she refused because of safety concerns. The physician himself then injected the medication -- and immediately the sheriff’s vital signs dropped and Shirley witnessed his death...by physician.

In our interview Shirley shares the highly pressured experience of being a hospital’s employee and a key witness in a court case about a medical death in that hospital. Shirley also shares how her father’s death involved medical error and how these cumulative experiences have impacted her life’s path.

Connect with Shirley Barker:

Facebook.com/Wellness-Island

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Be my Guest

I am always looking for guests to share their medical error experiences so we help bring awareness and make patients safer.

If you are a survivor, a victim’s surviving family member, a health care worker, advocate, researcher or policy maker and you would like to share your experiences, please send me an email with a brief description: [e-mail]

Need a Counsellor?

Like me, many of my clients at Remedies Counseling have experienced the often devastating effects of medical error.

If you need a counsellor for your experience with medical error, or living with a chronic illness(es), I offer online video counseling appointments.

**For my health and life balance, I limit my number of counseling clients.**

Email me to learn more or book an appointment: [e-mail]

Scott Simpson:

Counsellor + Patient Advocate + (former) Triathlete

I am a counsellor, patient advocate, and - before I became sick and disabled - a passionate triathlete. Work hard. Train hard. Rest hard.

I have been living with HIV since 1998. I was the first person living with HIV to compete at the triathlon world championships.

Thanks to research and access to medications, HIV is not a problem in my life.

I have been living with ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) since 2012, and thanks in part to medical error, it is a big problem in my life.

Counseling / Research

I first became aware of the ubiquitousness of medical error during a decade of community based research working with the HIV Prevention Lab at Ryerson University, where I co-authored two research papers on a counseling intervention for people living with HIV, here and here.

Patient participants would often report varying degrees of medical neglect, error and harms as part of their counseling sessions.

Patient Advocacy

I am co-founder of the ME patient advocacy non-profit Millions Missing Canada, and on the Executive Committee of the Interdisciplinary Canadian Collaborative Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Research Network.

I am also a patient advisor for Health Quality Ontario’s Patient and Family Advisory Council, and member of Patients for Patient Safety Canada.

Medical Error Interviews podcast and vidcast emerged to give voice to victims, witnesses and participants in this hidden epidemic so we can create change toward a safer health care system.

My golden retriever Gladys is a constant source of love and joy. I hope to be well enough again one day to race triathlons again. Or even shovel the snow off the sidewalk.