Page 117
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
I've politely introduced myself and inquired about their preferences in regard to my duties. After about 2 weeks, though, we usually come to a mutual understanding.
Female anesthesia providers are an entirely different breed: Pekingese. They're no sissy lap dogs. These courageous pups won't start a fight, but they won't back down from one either, and they'll bite if provoked. They'll go toe-to-toe with surgeons if necessary, and until you prove you know what you're doing, don't touch their patients.
As you can imagine, surgeons' breeds depend on their specialties. I can see the easygoing, good-with-kids Great Dane as the doc who handles a lot of pediatric cases. Dignified but reserved Chow Chows seem like cardiovascular surgeons, and who but neuro-spinal surgeons have the imposing confidence of a Rottweiler?
Do you know any residents at your local hospital? Then you can see why I think of them as Blood-hounds. They're always headed to emergency to sniff out the next big case. They have 3 pagers and 2 phones clipped to their scrub pants just so they don't miss anything interesting. And they drool at the thought of a 4-hour belly case.
The Jack Russell Terrier, like the new nurses who want to come work in the OR, thrive on action. They love to chase, hunt and dig. They're very vocal. They seem to be on a constant adrenaline rush. What stimulants are these new hires on? I'm not complaining: I'm glad there's new blood out there. I just can't keep up with them.
If another terrier, the American Staffordshire, could scrub in for surgery, it could probably fill in for most of the scrub techs I've worked with. It can be stubborn and tenacious, and is often known more for its fighting than its affections, but can be trusted for its loyalty. You don't want to get on the scrub's bad side, but I'd rather have that breed covering my back on a tough case than anyone else I've worked with in my career.
Ms. Watkins can be reached at pwatkins12@comcast.net.