8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M A R C H 2 0 2 0
I
'm not a new hire, but I
am new to this page. It's
been a long and reward-
ing journey from joining
OSM as an associate editor
17 years ago to being named
its editor-in-chief last month.
I remember working on my
first assignment from a makeshift cubicle in the magazine's former
office, a cramped wood-paneled space in a strip mall above a pizza
shop. That's where I learned about writing to deadlines and received
advice I follow to this day: Call Ann. She knows everything.
Ann is Ann Geier, MS, RN, CNOR, chief nursing officer at Surgical
Information Systems. You probably know her from the pages of this
magazine or perhaps you've seen her tell-it-like-it-is presentations at
national conferences. Ann was the first person I interviewed. The
specifics of the conversation escape me, but I do recall stopping her
mid-sentence when she glossed over something about a Mayo stand.
"Wait, what's that?" I asked. Now this was a nugget I could share
with readers.
"It's a small instrument stand placed next to the OR table," she
replied with plenty of patience and, if I'm being honest, a touch of pity.
"Interesting," I answered, my excitement building. "Tell me more." We
editors pride ourselves on digging for the details that matter most to you.
Ann paused for a beat.
"There's not much more to it."
I've since learned to ask more informed questions and can confi-
Wait … What's a Mayo Stand?
I've thankfully learned a lot since my first interview.
Editor's Page
Daniel Cook
We editors pride ourselves
on digging for the details
that matter most to you.