A day in the OR can go one of three ways.
Number 1- add-ons galore. This is when there are more surgeries than time on the schedule and cases sometimes get tacked on at the end of a surgeon’s day. These add-ons can be emergent cases from the ER or the floor. Or Endo. If this was the fairy tale The Three Bears, this would be Papa Bear’s bed.
Number 2 – comme ci, comme ça. This is French. It means neither good or bad. Really it means so-so. This is when the OR schedule runs as designed. Neither early, nor late. Neither too many or too few cases. If this was the fairy tale, this would be Mama Bear’s bed.
Number 3- cancellations aplenty. This isn’t desirable all of the time. But occasionally having the schedule suddenly lighten is not a bad thing. This often leads to people being able to go home early. And who doesn’t like that? In this fairy tale, this would be Baby Bear’s bed.
No wonder Goldilocks took a nap.
Of course, the vast majority of the days go between 1 and 2.
Sometimes it seems as if there is an emergency case pipeline. You hit the floor running as soon as you walk into the OR and it never stops. Sometimes you miss lunch or a break.
The vast majority of the days are Number 2. This is just a regular shmegular day.
But those Baby Bear days can hit just right. And you get that nap after working a few hours.
Good thing you can backfill those hours with your PTO bank.
Dispatches from the Evening Shift 