Why is the surgical schedule so weird?

I have heard this many times.

So many times.

And there are different answers to the question. Depending on which month it is.

Is there a holiday this week or next? Just like in yesterday’s Tuesday Thought.

Is this week near a major school holiday such as Spring Break, or Summer vacation, or Christmas break?

Most of the surgeons have children still in school. And they want to spend as much time as possible with them.

Is there a major conference going on?

Such as Academy for orthopedic surgeons.

Is there a major golf tournament nearby? Or on the television.

This depends on if the surgeons play golf. Hint, most of them do.

Is there a major sporting event going on?

The Super Bowl, the World Series, the final race in the Nascar Cup Series, March Madness.

Are there any local Nascar races?

Same reason as the sports ones.

The biggest is the week of the month the weird week falls on.

Specifically the 5th week of the month.

Most ORs allocate case time using a block schedule.

Not all months have a 5th week and the block schedule cannot accommodate it.

This week happens to be the 5th week of May.

Therefore the OR schedule is rather light.

Don’t worry; it will rebound on Thursday. Which is the first Thursday of June. Or Friday, which is the first Friday of June.

The surgeons haven’t run out of patients yet.

Of course, politics may be exerting some influence. Such as the debt ceiling crisis that is currently embroiling Washington DC. Patients and surgeons may be feeling the pressure a bit.

The schedule may be light. But it will rebound soon enough.

And the staff will be wishing for the light days.