do you REALLY read the paper on the job???

[ribcrackindoc]

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My Internal medicine attending told me to go into anesthesiology so I could sit around and read the paper all day. I'm sure that's an exaggeration, it's a very interesting field. But this isn't the first time I've heard about anesthesiologists reading the paper in the OR. Is it true that this happens?

Another question: how many hours do you work relative to the work hours of a surgeon?

Thanks in advance for your insight!

 

[Tenesma]

i think it is rude to be reading the paper during a case.... now i will admit when the hand surgeon is doing a four digit reimplant on a healthy 22 year old.... the case can take 12 hours, and the vitals are perfectly steady... the urge to focus on something other than the monitor exists... because of that i always have a critical care text or medical review around just to stay awake 🙂

but the more senior you get, the more complicated the cases you do! and trust me, in those cases you don't even have time to blink!!!! let alone sit down!!!

but i still think reading the newspaper is very rude

 

[Molly Maquire]

I shadowed a number of gas doctors over the summer, and never saw anyone reading the newspaper. Almost all of them, however, used the time during cases to fill out paperwork, billing forms, etc.

Although, most of the cases I watched were of the "bread and butter" type.

 

[bustbones26]

I did a surgery rotation at a hopsital that has a high volume of surgeries per day. This place had CRNA's on staff.

By the time the anesthesiologist pre-op'ed a patient, went into a room and put another patient to sleep, it was time to go to the next room to wake a patient up, and by the time that was done, it was time to go back to pre-op and start all over. These guys never sat down!! The CRNA stayed in the room and watched the vitals the whole time, they called the gas man if there was a problem.

Now in a low volume hospital that do not have CRNA's, the gas man does have to sit in the room, maybe then they can have some spare time.

 

[icelatte]

I personally think it's unprofessional to read a paper in the OR. I do read journals and texts so as far as patient safety what's the difference, right? I just think it's the impression we give by what people see us doing. Our CRNA's read magazine and papers in the OR all the time. Some of my attendings are hard pressed to say that it's wrong because some of the best, most vigilant people they know read papers in the OR and never miss a step. I don't think reading in the OR is wrong, I just think we need to be aware of the image we portray.