Twelve
A solid twelve hours work, but with good support. Lifted 64 three liter bags of irrigation fluid for four extensive joint scopes -two complex shoulder repairs, two ACL knee repairs. That comes up to handling over 400 lbs. Broke my own record of bags for a single case, from a previous 23 to a current 30. Changed out the 20L suction device 4 times on that one case. Started our last surgery after 1730, but thanks to a couple of folks staying to the bitter end of their shifts, we turned over VERY quickly.
Most of the day, I worked with P, who has very good eye language. I sometimes struggle with her accent, I have a deaf spot with a lot of Asian Englishes. But she is very good at catching my eye when she needs to communicate with me, or miming what she wants. Sometimes, she just writes me funny notes, and holds them up. And she tells me I'm rather good at picking up on her prompts. She will point, or look, and I go and check, bring her what the surgeon asked for - then I look at her to see if she already has it, and she either waves me off, or nods, and I (continue to) move. Likewise E who relieved her, gives me a word or a smile, and I respond. It's so important in this job, and a real joy when it works well. A kind of trust and respect.
From when P left at the end of her shift at 3, until E took over at 5, I had to deal with a scrub for whom this subtlety is a closed book. I feel her staring at me, but when I give her a questioning look, she rolls her eyes back. I look at the irrigation bags to check their level, and she looks at me for a while before realizing I'm not looking at her. No matter who I speak to, she answers. This is the kind of skill it is nearly impossible to teach, it has to be picked up by the observant and sensitive. Hard to describe, and those who don't get it get huffy and frustrated.
So wrung out when I got home. D made me dinner, I used the foot massager and iced my back. Moby slept on me quite a lot last night. Lots of dreams.
Most of the day, I worked with P, who has very good eye language. I sometimes struggle with her accent, I have a deaf spot with a lot of Asian Englishes. But she is very good at catching my eye when she needs to communicate with me, or miming what she wants. Sometimes, she just writes me funny notes, and holds them up. And she tells me I'm rather good at picking up on her prompts. She will point, or look, and I go and check, bring her what the surgeon asked for - then I look at her to see if she already has it, and she either waves me off, or nods, and I (continue to) move. Likewise E who relieved her, gives me a word or a smile, and I respond. It's so important in this job, and a real joy when it works well. A kind of trust and respect.
From when P left at the end of her shift at 3, until E took over at 5, I had to deal with a scrub for whom this subtlety is a closed book. I feel her staring at me, but when I give her a questioning look, she rolls her eyes back. I look at the irrigation bags to check their level, and she looks at me for a while before realizing I'm not looking at her. No matter who I speak to, she answers. This is the kind of skill it is nearly impossible to teach, it has to be picked up by the observant and sensitive. Hard to describe, and those who don't get it get huffy and frustrated.
So wrung out when I got home. D made me dinner, I used the foot massager and iced my back. Moby slept on me quite a lot last night. Lots of dreams.
Posted by Zhoen on Wednesday, September 21, 2011
4 comments:
My grandson has a therapy cat, though I think my daughter needs him as well. Seems that Moby might be providing similar services at your house, too.
I love how cats seem to know when we need their particular brand of help.
Cats are great at keeping away evil spirits. Well, they are warm and furry, and very comforting when they purr. Moby is our household god, no question.
All those subtleties of non-verbal communication are fascinating. What a challenge - the lady who answers no matter who you're speaking to!
Knowing the best way to communicate under the circumstances you are often in can really expedite matters and provide an element of clarity that otherwise would be missing. That there are some not attuned to that level of communication is no surprise; some people are as nuanced as a flood plain.
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