8 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U N E 2 0 2 0
B
eing forced to quarantine at home during the coronavirus out-
break has been relatively easy to manage. Can't go to work.
Can't hang out with friends and family. Can't go to restau-
rants or ballgames.
Now comes the hard part. As lockdowns begin to lift across the
nation, "yellow" risk designations will create a gray area between
maintaining the progress we've made to limit the spread of COVID-19
and letting us all get back to living relatively normal lives. The lessen-
ing of social restrictions will vary in different regions of the nation,
across sections of states and even among neighboring communities.
We'll each have our own beliefs about how to safely reacclimate to a
changed society.
I'm wondering how long that will take. While talking to several sur-
gical leaders for this month's cover story about how they're managing
the reopening of ORs during a worldwide pandemic, I was struck by
the number of additional steps their staffs and surgical teams must
take just to perform a single case. The way you work now is decidedly
different than when you left. But you're adapting, and finding new
ways to provide excellent patient care under the most difficult of cir-
cumstances.
The COVID-19 outbreak has challenged us all to work differently,
and perhaps smarter. My wife and I sit in front of dueling laptops at
the kitchen table, timing bursts of productivity between yells for juice
boxes and Netflix shows. Working remotely has actually made me
more organized. I'm forced to compare a week's worth of virtual
meetings with my wife's schedule so I know when I'll be able to
sneak away to work in a quiet part of the house. I'm more efficient
Ahead of the Curve
Your return to the OR shows us how to adapt in uncertain times.
Editor's Page
Dan Cook