BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
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O U T P AT 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 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4
leaving a sticky note for the materials manager, right?
Orchids to having a little bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder,
which helps me keep up with the surgeon who does his cases the
exact same way every time.
Onions
to the surgeon who never does
any case the same way, except for the part where he yells at his staff,
"I always do it this way! Why can't you people get it together?"
Onions to those days when you've gathered everything you need
for your entire slate of cases, then changes to the schedule send you
to a room where the circulator hasn't pulled or arranged anything
even for the next hour.
Orchids when you can get your hands on one of those duckbill-
style surgical masks when scrubbing in for a case. They don't feel as
suffocating during "forever-and-a-day" cases, plus you can draw a
smile on them with a marker to look friendly while you're actually
snarling. This works wonders with local anesthesia and MAC patients,
when you have to keep talking with them throughout surgery. (I'll
admit it: I'm not always Glinda the Good Nurse, spreading glitter
wherever I go. Sometimes I like dealing with patients better when
they're unconscious.)
Onions to overly expensive (and hideously ugly) OR shoes that do
a torture job on your feet, legs, knees and back, as well as to everyone
who says they feel like heaven and make a big difference when you're
standing around all day.
Orchids to the moment you're offered the ideal position at another
hospital, you put in your notice and you hear your co-workers are
planning a going-away party.
Onions
when you're scheduled to work
late on your last day and find out that the party they're throwing is on
the Monday after you're gone.
Onions to the little irritations on the job, like the surgeon who told
me to adjust the light, then criticized each move because I didn't posi-