The operating room can be more than a little overwhelming at times. There’s a constant flurry of activity as the team prepares for and then performs surgical procedures. Every case seems to have equipment and supplies for days, there’s a million people, and every instruments has at least two different names, if not three. The… Read More The Hierarchy of Priority: Patient, People, & Paperwork
In December, I served on a medical mission trip to Honduras. I had the privilege of working alongside world-class surgeons and surgical teams from across the country. It was my first time traveling overseas on my own, it was my first time serving on a medical mission trip, and it was an incredible, humbling experience.… Read More Day 1 in the OR: Finding Perspective in a Chaotic Case
We’re all pretty familiar with the phrase, “the power of perfection,” or maybe, “the beauty of perfection,” but have you ever thought about the burden of perfection? It’s a strange, and somewhat depressing, thought. But in our world, it exists, and it’s something that’s so engrained in us as healthcare professionals, that I wonder if… Read More The Burden of Perfection – And How to Carry It
In the operating room, we use the phrase “patient safety” an awful lot – for good reason, too. Everything we do hinges on providing our patients with a safe surgical experience. We confirm their identity, surgical site, and laterality multiple times before rolling back, we position them for their procedures in ways least likely to… Read More Effective Communication: The Foundation of Patient Safety
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,… Read More The Impartiality of the Operating Table