Best Kept Secrets of the OR, part 2- Howling at the Moon T

This is the second part of the Best Kept Secrets of the OR.

This is not the post I was going to write. But I will keep that one half written and release it next week. I was just about done with it when I happened to look up and see the big bright nearly full moon.

I know a lot has already been written about full moons and healthcare. How we hate the full moon. How we fear the full moon.

True. All of them.

I know that Atul Gawande covered the statistical lack of the full moon craziness in his book Complications. Until he worked a full moon, he would have no idea.

The full moon brings out the crazies.

And it is not just the ER that feels the impact.

But I don’t think it gets enough attention.

Yes, the crazies howl at the moon.

There is more light available at the full moon that may lead people to do things they wouldn’t normally do because it feels kind of naughty. Until they step into a hole they can’t see fully and break an ankle.

There are also atmospheric pressure changes, kind of like a low-pressure front.

I mean the full moon also has an impact on labor and delivery. After all, the amniotic fluid is technically a body of water.

I mean I guess it isn’t only the OR’s best-kept secret.

But I hate working a full moon.

Not only are the patients feral, so are the surgeons.