They're also used to abusing and neglecting their bodies. If they can
be on their feet for 12 hours straight on 3 hours of sleep and not eat
lunch, what's a little wrist pain? So what if it hurts when they try to
turn my neck to the left.
They grin and bear it rather than complain about aches and fatigue.
They're taught to suck it up and tough it out, even though they risk an
injury that could cut short a 30-year career.
That's where you come in. Encourage your docs to take a 90-second
break during surgery to stretch. Make sure your ORs are ergonomically
friendly — the HD monitors are positioned at eye level, the room is set
up for the surgeon, not the assistant or the residents — and stock the
latest laparoscopes, the ones with the comfortable handles. Encourage
surgeons to think of their comfort so they preserve their careers.
"The key to preventing ergonomic injuries in surgeons is to make
them aware, as early as possible in their careers, that they exist. They
need to be aware that if they don't set the room up for their comfort,
over time they will have an injury," says Dr. Ross. "They must pay
attention to their own wellness. Are their shoulders relaxed? Is their
hand in the correct position? Are their eyes maintained on the screen
so that their neck remains neutral?"
How can surgeons advance their careers? "By taking care of our bod-
ies," says Sharona B. Ross, MD, FACS, the director of minimally inva-
sive surgery and surgical endoscopy at Florida Hospital Tampa.
OSM
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