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ALL IN A DAY'S WORK
Andy Whitener, MSPT, MBA
A Day in the Life of a Surgical Administrator
We run out of hours in the day before we run out of things to do.
I came into work early today, a few minutes after Regina from our business office opened the center at 5:30 a.m. I have more than 30 items on my to-do list. If I'm lucky, I'll get through half. Need to get payroll completed before 11 a.m.! The first teammates inform me the sidewalks are slippery as the temperature drops. I put on rubber gloves, and salt the sidewalks and key areas of the parking lot.
• 6:20 a.m. A beeper is alarming in the IT closet (the "scary room"). Our
surge protector has a battery backup that lets the central computer maintain data during a power failure. I call for a replacement.
• 9 a.m. So far this morning, surgeries seem to be going well, except a
surgical tech called in sick. I get the call. I keep busy until they page me to OR 3. I don my scrubs and make my way back. This is an enjoyable
break from my administrative duties, a great opportunity to see my staff in action and interact with our surgeons while they do what they love. In this case, I'm assigned to be the cameraman.
• 10 a.m. I run out to touch base with a couple of docs who expressed an interest in doing surgeries at our center. I tell them to be on the lookout for a credentialing packet from Jenny our office manager, who's responsible for credentialing more than 60 surgeons. She also cleans stretchers when
we get busy.
• 11:30 a.m. Back in the office, the nitrogen alarm is going off. We have a
second tank, but why the unusual drop? I hook up a spare tank and hear
the sound that tells me the gas is running somewhere. Turns out an OR nurse left the nitrogen on after a dental case. I resume cleaning up emails, which have multiplied while I wasn't looking. Did I have lunch? Oh well, the newly discovered hole in my belt says I don't need it anyway.
• 1 p.m. Early afternoon and all appears to be running smoothly when the earsplitting shrill of the fire alarm sounds off. The staff reacts appro-
