The post-it reads, in dark highlighted letters, all caps, ‘DON’T EXPLAIN TO ME SHIT I CAME UP WITH.’
Pretty much what it says on the post-it.
The thing about evening shift/call shift that people don’t get is that there are 3 people to move patients.
The CRNA.
The circulator.
The scrub tech.
If you are lucky, the anesthesiologist is not putting in an epidural and can help when called.
If you are really lucky, the surgeon has not yet vamoosed.
Sometimes you just aren’t that lucky.
A safe transfer for a patient is 4 people.
One to pull.
One to push.
One to control head.
One to move legs.
What to do when you don’t have four people?
On the evening shift I developed a technique that I call poor man third person.
Basically, a dummy 4th person.
In the beginning it would be a pillow under the calves.
Allowing the puller to pull on legs and body sheet simultaneously.
The evenings had done with for YEARS.
I also began teaching it to other staff.
And then I evolved poor man third person.
I realized that one of the sides of the armboard pad is smooth.
And would move with less force than a pillow.
The pillow creates too much drag.
And so poor man third person evolved.
And then someone tried to teach the technique to me.
To me!
The instigator who taught everyone else about it.
And the person who taught the would be teacher about it.
Years ago.
People.
Humph.
Dispatches from the Evening Shift 