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BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
saw blades. I
could at least
be the apprentice fetching
the tools if I'm
not the master
blaming them.
• Fitness trainer. Lifting 150
pounds of leg. Running a 50-yard
IF I HAD A HAMMER OR nurses
are qualified to do any number of
jobs, including carpentry.
dash for supplies that didn't get pulled. Stretching and reaching for
the equipment stacked high on the booms. Jumping and swinging to
position the lights and monitors where the surgeon wants them.
• Childcare worker. Face it: Adults act more like children when they
don't get their way than children do. At least we can make children take
a time out. Just try putting surgeons or anesthesia in a corner.
• Actor. Every day I act like I'm in a good mood. I act like the surgeon I'm assisting is the only one in the whole world. I act like his
jokes are as funny today as they were every other time he's told them.
• Dancer. Have you ever watched a circulator at work? It's like a ballet. It's pure poetry in motion to see the "dance of the circulator."
• Chemist. How is this drug going to interact with the million other
medications this 150-year-old patient is on? Is it 1 of the 100 drugs she's
allergic to, some of which were administered before World War II?
• Court reporter. Just the facts, ma'am. Only the facts go into this
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