We weren't off to a great start, as we got stuck in traffic on the way to the hospital, and it took us a little bit of time to hit our rhythm. We also learned that the hospital only has one working autoclave. When they ordered the second one, it arrived but didn't work, and the company's maintenance couldn't figure out how to fix it. Sterile processing has a very large, brand new, non-working autoclave. Hopefully this won't affect our rigorous schedule throughout the week.
Our afternoon tradition seems to be passing a brand new baby around to hold. It's our good luck charm!
Dr. Hofmann and a brand-spankin'-new baby girl
While the OR staff was more than willing to stay to do the last case, we decided as a team that it wasn't fair to the post-op and floor teams to stay until 10 pm. It's amazing how many skilled and generous people it takes to get a surgery done. Pre-op to anesthesia, then into surgery, then out of surgery into recovery, then down to the floor for care, then into PT. Dressing changes, walking, medications, repeat repeat repeat, discharge. It's a lot of work! The patient was treated to a warm meal, a hospital bed, and the promise of the first surgery slot in the morning.
As mentioned yesterday, it's earthquake season. It took us a few shakes to realize that we couldn't hear any loud trucks, and no one had seen a large herd of buffalo running through the halls. We've been told we are fine, but if we can count to six we should run for the doors. Reassuring, to say the least.
We headed home for a quick shower. Our bus ride is 15 minutes, which happens to be the perfect amount of time to drink a cold Pilsenar from the cooler at the front of the bus. We walked three short blocks to dinner, where we met up with the newly arrived Dr. Jones and his lovely wife Susan and ate plates of calamari, octopus ceviche, and cheesy pizza, and then headed home for an early night. 21 cases for tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment