What happens in the OR stays in the OR (Part 1)

Hello Everyone,

Being brand new to the steemit community I have been reading a lot of posts and appreciate all that people have uploaded on this website.  Life stories, how the site works, trips around the world, etc.. so I wanted to post something that many people "really" don't know about. 

 

I want to share with you what truly happens inside an operating room.  I will be telling stories I have been first hand witness to as well as stories that I have heard from co-workers, nurses, etc.  I will be keeping all identities anonymous and will NOT be giving out any patient information (don't want to upset the HIPAA people).

For starters I will explain some background about myself, I have been a medical sales rep for years selling primarily orthopedic implants.  I have assisted in numerous cases ranging from simple procedures to cases that have lasted 8+ hours long.  I have covered Trauma, Extremities, Sports Medicine, and Recon so I have experience with surgeries going very well and complete MELTDOWNS!  I will try to keep everything in layman's terms so everyone can understand.  

Lets begin with the Operating Room apparel and roster.  Before entering the operating room you must be dressed and covered appropriately.  Meaning: wearing the specific hospital/surgery center scrubs, hair net/skull cap, shoe covers, and of course a surgical mask.  Everyone in the sterile field is wearing a sterile gown along with sterile gloves.  In the OR there is the Doctor preforming the surgery, an Anesthesiologist, a resident (optional), a scrub tech (or two), a circulating nurse, and me (a rep).

What is a Resident?  Basically a MD in training, typically just got out of med school and need experience.

What does a Scrub Tech do??  They assist the doctor during surgery by handing over instruments, getting implants prepared, and keeping things organized.  They do a ton and don't get enough credit in my opinion.

What does a Sales Rep do?? Well there are multiple answers to that question but in short we sell a certain product/procedure to a doctor, and if they want to use it we are there to help them through the case.

Okay, enough of the boring stuff the first case I want to share with you is very comedic and flirting with psychotic.

This is a TRUE STORY.

Case #1

"Rock Star Doctor"

I was just starting my medical sales career and was hired by a big named orthopedic company as an associate sales rep (essentially I was the office bitch while I was learning procedures and products).  Thankfully my immediate boss, "Jim", was a great guy and brought me to a majority of his cases so I could gain some experience and learn hands on.  

So the 4th or 5th case he brought me to was an Achilles Tendon repair.  Our company just released a new procedure on this repair and since Jim and "Dr. Bob" have done countless cases before he wanted to be the first to try it out.  Not having any prior knowledge about this product or procedure besides looking at a brochure, the doctor was heavily relying on Jim to guide him through the case. 

Before walking into the OR Jim warned me about this guy saying, "George, don't freak out in there but Dr Bob can be a little crazy at times".  I brushed it off thinking, how crazy can an orthopedic surgeon truly be?  After 5 years living in a Fraternity house with guys who should be classified as primates I thought it couldn't be any worse.  But once we swung open the door to Operating Room 3, Jim's words finally sunk in.  

We walked into a 1980's Def Leppard concert blasting at volume 10, with Dr Bob screaming the lyrics of "Pour Some Sugar On Me" like it was karaoke night down at the local tavern.  I quickly found a spot on the wall and opened up my notebook, as if I was going to write down anything of importance, and I see Jim and Dr Bob greeting each other.  I couldn't help but notice Dr Bob talking at 100 words per minute and sporadically busting out air drum solos... its like he did a mountain of cocaine in the locker room.  

I took a brief moment to look across the room and take a mental role call: Anesthesiologist..Check, Scrub Tech..Check, Resident..Check, and Circulating Nurse..Check.  I always did this so if I had any questions I know who to ask. Everyone seemed to have this unamused look on their face like they pulled the short straw to be in Dr Bob's Operating Room.  

As the case began everything seemed to mellow out a bit, the music was turned down and Dr Bob finally looked collected.  The procedure it self was flawless, Jim was spot on during the whole case and was clearly explaining every step to Dr Bob. 

At the end of the repair, to test your result the doctor typically dorsiflexes the foot.  Meaning as the patient is laying on their stomach the doctor will take the foot and manipulate it so the toes are being pushed towards the head.  Doctors do this because they are looking for resistance when dorsiflexing to know they have a strong repair.

Soo, just when I thought the madness was over I was wrong.  Dr Bob then pointed to me and said "Hey George do you mind going over to my iphone, which was connected to the speakers, and picking a song out of my 80's playlist and turning it up?"  "Sure" I said, so as I was scrolling through his song selection I found "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits.  As many of you know the intro to that song is epic and Dr Bob knew that as he told me "Good Fucking Choice George".  

With the drum solo beginning, Dr Bob is dorsiflexing the foot to check his repair.  You could tell he liked the procedure and now was the time to see if the repair was comparable if not better than the old way.  As he was whispering to himself it was unclear if he was happy until he screamed at Jim.  "Jim, this motherfucker is tight!!!" then in his irrational flux of temper he reaches back cocking his hand and in one swift motion he unloads a open palmed slap on the patients calf. 

With the drum solo now over and the guitar now building up, Dr Bob proceeds to rip off his surgical gown and point to his poor innocent resident saying, "Stitch that shit up".  Dr Bob storms out the room like a rockstar finishing a concert and Jim and I stare at each other in amazement and hilarity.  His resident at the time was this 5'2 little asian girl who looks scared shitless of Dr Bob and what has taken place throughout this whole case.  Needless to say she followed orders and asked the circulating nurse for a variety of suture and vicryl.

Once the resident started closing Jim and I left the room and walked out to the parking lot.  There was a moment of silence then we both busted up laughing.  But at the end of the day the patient had a great repair.... and possibly a nice star fish on the back of their calf.

I write these stories to open the eyes to the general public on the reality of the hospital OR and all the informalities that take place.

Depending on the feedback I get from this post will determine if I will share more stories.  I have a bank of completely amazing events that take place in the OR.

Till next time