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BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Paula Watkins, RN, CNOR
Petty Grievances
Little things that get under our skin.
D
id anyone
see that?
After trip-
GRRRRR Some things
you see in the OR just
make you want to
scream.
ping over a C-arm
cord, I narrowly
avoided introducing
my face to the floor.
That would have
been many (never mind you how many) years of cool down the drain.
Then I remembered the ORs are equipped with cameras. Yeah, they
saw it. I could imagine them in the office, giggling over my graceless
recovery. In slow-motion instant replay. Heck, I'd watch that. Some
annoyances are kind of funny, even if it's only later, after they've
annoyed you.
• Drug shortages. Bupivacaine 30ml, for example, has been backordered for an eternity, not just here but everywhere. What's the holdup? A missing secret ingredient? Bottlemaker can't keep up with the
demand for little glass vials? Maybe whoever's responsible should visit
an OR table for a little show-and-tell on why these medications are
important. Tell me if this hurts.
• Stretchers with cords. Think about that for a second: a stretcher
(with wheels, for moving around) with a cord (that plugs into an out1 4 0
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 | N O V E M B E R 2012