What does patient care look like in the OR? I’ve written before about patient care, and how different patient care is in the OR compared to other nursing specialties. But today, I want to look at patient care from a slightly different angle, and take a closer look at how we treat, or should treat, each of our patients.
We see people from all walks of life in our ORs. From members of the military, policemen, firemen, teachers, prominent social figures and other “famous people,” to victims of violence, those suffering from drug addiction, the homeless, and prisoners – we see it all. And, it can be tempting to treat one type of patient better than the other based on who they are, or based on our own stereotypes and biases. But how we treat our patients should never be based on supposed “worth” due to a difference in social status or lifestyle choice.
Think about it, when the stretcher rolls into the room and the blankets come off, does social status still matter? Is the care that we give solely determined by our patient’s perceived value?
I’ve been mulling over patient care in the OR for a few days now, and I’ve been reminded of this truth:
The operating table accepts all people without distinction – and so should we.
When a person lays on our table, they become completely helpless. Our patients sleep, peacefully unaware that anesthesia is keeping them alive. They don’t ever see the countless tasks we perform before the surgery even begins. And they don’t experience their procedure, but they go off to sleep, trusting us to take care of them and to deliver them back to their waiting family.
That’s a huge responsibility, and it’s one that we shouldn’t take lightly. The care that we give isn’t just summed up in the myriad of tasks that we perform during our cases, and it shouldn’t become so commonplace that our patients are treated with indifference. Our patients aren’t just “the gallbladder in OR 7” or “the total knee in OR 4.” Each patient is a person, not just a procedure. They are someone’s father, mother, husband, wife, sister, brother, son, or daughter. And if we let that reality guide our practice, then our patient care will always be of the highest quality.
Every patient deserves to be given the best care that we can possibly give them.
When a patient lays on our table, exposed and vulnerable, no matter what title they carry, or what social history they may have, suddenly there is no distinction. The operating table strips away social status and everyone is equal. But what remains is fundamentally the most important thing of all: their humanity.
We would do well to remember the humanity of our patients. Everyone lays on the same table, from professional athletes to CEOs to prisoners. The operating table holds them all equally. And when the drapes go up, titles and status are erased, and all that remains is a human being entrusting themselves to our care.
Melanie
This was an interesting read. I try to tell my students, bear in mind, what your patient has had to deal with leading up to this day. Are they someone’s carer ? Do they have children that it was difficult to organise care? Are they losing money / earnings ? Will they have financial difficulty? They have had to wake early, struggle to get transport for the hospital, is the operation to discover if they have, or the extent of cancer? To us, this may be “just another gall bladder/appendix/ hip replacement/hysterectomy. To that patient , it’s maybe the biggest, scariest thing thing they’ve ever done
This article is very interesting and timely, especially in regards to this time in our society. I am old school, I was not trained to judge anyone and to see each person I dealt with, as a person no better no worse the I. I guess we need to be more like the OR table than arbiters of judgement.
I worked in the Or for 25 years and now I am the patient on the table. Every person has been fantastic.
I was recently on the receiving end of surgical care. After being a CST for sixteen years it was eye opening. Despite having chosen every caregiver in the room I was terrified. The profound trust required should not be underestimated.
A reminder to all. Awesome article. Thank you.
This was a great reminder/refresher to practice true unbiased empathy when caring for our patients. I’m going to share this with my coworkers and try harder to practice this in my day to day nursing career. Thankyou for sharing.
This was my world for over 30 years, all the lives and fears and problems to anticipate … plans to make, protocols to follow . No different then if it was our own family we were caring for.. like a mother takes urgent care for the least little thing that could possibly happen and to be ready!!! Realizing that The patients do trust us with their life The awesome responsibility we accepted .
As a registered nurse, I worked in the following environments: ICU/CCU; Special needs; and the Operating Room. Nurses have the great opportunity to select from a wide variety of avenues to hone their skills. My great love was the operating room. This article pinpoints exactly how we cared for each patient entrusted to our care. They were totally dependent on us (the entire team) to keep them safe during their procedure. And we did…by respecting each and every one regardless of who they were, who they knew, or what they had achieved in life. It WAS an awesome responsibility.
As a surgeon of 20 years I have never once forgotten the mother, son, executive, fire fighter, teacher, trusting human beneath the operating room drapes. My hands are my tools to turn the balance just enough so the patient can heal themselves. The talented team I work with every day leads the journey to recovery from cancer, infection, sometimes injury. The article is so true but I find it sad the author felt it necessary to remind us that this is how we “should treat” our patients. It is how we must treat them! If it is a just job to you that doesn’t make you realize the immense responsibility you have every moment you step into the operation room, then you do not belong there. I commend the author for bringing this most important aspect of our careers to the forefront of our thoughts. I openly applaud the amazing team I work with for caring for our patients with respect and dignity. Our entire hospital staff care for every individual as if they are our friends and family. In our rural community they are exactly that. Thank you Marzena for showing me this article. You lead by example!!
I am a former OR nurse. When I went back to school for my masters degree my graduate thesis was “Creating a Caring Healing Environment in the OR”. No matter how hard I tried to change the culture I was met with opposition.. mostly from the surgeons. This continued treating of patients horribly and having beyond inappropriate conversations in the OR and not respecting the human lives that were on the table is one of the main reasons I left. I hope the culture someday changes because OR nursing is amazing.