Viewpoint

Do Not Try This in Your OR

FROM THE CHIEF MEDICAL EDITOR
Larry E. Patterson, MD

Occasionally I receive emails chastising me for some point I've made, instances when the writer has somehow missed my intended tone of sarcasm, and instead took me quite seriously. So this time I'd like to try to suspend my normal satire and be serious for a moment.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank my office staff for all the care, compassion and concern they've shown me over the years. Nothing illustrates this more than the following story.

My office takes up the main floor of a two-story building. Conveniently, my surgery center takes up most of the lower level. A back hallway opens into men's and women's locker rooms that in turn provide entrance into the sterile corridor. The door swings out from the locker room. The process involves a firm push on the doorplate, as there is no doorknob. However, to meet the evergrowing and beneficent governmental regulations, that door must be locked from the sterile corridor side when the facility is not in use.

It is the policy and practice of our facility that someone is designated each surgical morning to unlock the aforementioned door. I am usually upstairs in quiet meditation, mentally preparing myself for the day ahead. When it is time, a call rings up telling me it's time to begin. I tend to jog down the hallways and stairs to the locker room, changing into appropriate attire and, with one smooth move I push through the swinging door into the sterile corridor.

This particular morning was different. As I made my one purposeful smooth move through the door, it became readily apparent that someone had failed to unlock the door, most likely because they were attending to one of our patient's needs. Unfortunately my brain was unable to signal the rest of my body to stop in time, resulting in an abrupt impact of my forehead against the government-mandated, locked, solid-core door. Although I didn't lose consciousness, for about five minutes I'd wished I had. The resulting contusion made quite an impression.

And my amazingly caring staff? Wishing to ensure this could never happen again, and knowing the very real possibility of future but unintentional negligence in unlocking the door, they posted this very helpful sign on that door:

Instructions for Proper Door Operation

1. Stand straight with good posture
2. Do not lean forward with head
3. Extend hand forward
4. Gently press on door handle
5. If it opens easily, continue pressing handle until door opens
6. If you feel resistance, STOP! Do not try to open door with head

I'm glad my staff cares enough about me to show this kind of respect, admiration, and appreciation. I hope you are lucky enough to have people around you who care. And I thank you, dear readers, for giving me the opportunity to be serious just for once.