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STAFFING
al while the anesthesiologist pushes buttons to silence the alarm.
Eventually, the anesthesiologist replaces the CO2 cartridge and sampling line and pushes the "mute" button. But the error message continues, frustrating the surgeon and staff. The circulator finally locates the
manual, but can't find troubleshooting directions, so she decides to
call the anesthesia machine's service representative.
While the circulator is placing
I'd much rather hire nurses
who volunteered during
lights begin to drift away from
summer breaks to build
the sterile field. The scrub tech houses than nurses who were
members of Lambda Pi Alpha.
repositions them, but they
the call, the overhead surgical
don't remain in place. Then the
video system that's guiding the surgeon's laparoscopic scope begins to
flicker, which the circulator, back from the phone call, attempts to fix.
She unplugs cords, turns the system back on and tries everything she
can think of to get the picture back on the screen. After a 10-minute
delay, the system seems to be working again and the case continues.
The anesthesia machine's alarm continues to beep throughout the
ordeal.
By the time the case is finished, the entire team is frustrated and
annoyed by the equipment issues and the delay in OR time. The center's biomedical engineer is called, and will come the following day to
troubleshoot the equipment to the tune of $850 for his time and travel.
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | D E C E M B E R 2012
