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As a resident you go with the flow. You arrive early, set up your room, and fall into the flow of your assigned room. More than likely you are waiting on something or someone at some point in your day. The transporter isnt back with the patient yet. The circulator had to run to get something. The scrub tech still has stuff to set up.
More than likely you settle into the flow, wait around, take a whiz, saunter to the resident's room to check your email, run up to the fifth floor to "check some labs" so you can run into that hottie nurse again, etc etc.
And wait for your beeper to go off.
This kind of mindset happens in private practice too.
Settling into The Flow.
Thing is, an advocate can break the flow.
Here's the Jetpearl:
Taking command of the flow can shave a cuppla hours off your day.
Yeah, I know.
You're a resident.
Which means the harder you work, the more work you'll get.
Alotta exposure is great when you are a resident but you don't wanna burn yourself out.
This is a challenge for my resident colleagues which will show you how much you can make a difference in turnover time. Making a difference in turnover time out here is GOLD, my friends.
Because it is the exception, not the rule.
If you are the exception rather than the rule,
opportunities arise to you.
The dude with the most feathers in his hat wins.
A great feather to have is to know how to push a room.
Back to the challenge:
Pick a day where you have a high volume room of cases. Maybe you've got 6 total knees. Maybe you've got 2 gallbladders, a hernia, and a cuppla FESSs. Whatever. But pick a day with a buncha cases.
Then set into your mind WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE DONE TO MAKE THIS ROOM GO FASTER I'M GONNA DO.
I've been doing this near fifteen years and guess what....I still think like this. Little time saving here and there adds up to a cuppla hours saved at the end of the day in a room with 6-8 cases.
Here's some examples:
1) First case: Patient isnt in holding yet, you're there early to do an epidural for a total knee? Don't wait. Go to day surgery and roll the stretcher yourself. Same day nurse say's "we're waiting on phlebotomy for the type and screen." You say "I'll draw it. I'm taking the patient."
2) You're done with the epidural in holding. No sign of the circulator. Call the room. "Yeah hi its Dr Jet, can we come back?" Circulator says the room isnt ready. Look at your watch. "OK. It's 0710. Tell me when I can roll back and I'll meet you in the room."
3) You're done with case number 2, outta recovery, ready for case number three. You take a whiz, go to holding. No patient. Call the front desk. "Yeah, hi, Dr. Jet. Next patient for room nine isn't in holding. Whats up?" Front desk nurse says "the transporter was tied up in room 12 til justa few minutes ago. I told him to head to the seventh floor when he was done." Hang up. Call the seventh floor. Transporter there? Great. No transporter? Go to the seventh floor to get the patient.
4) During your case, make sure the circulator has sent for the next patient in a timely fashion. I can't tell you how many delays I've experienced because someone "forgot to send."
5) I work in a supervised environment. When I'm in a total joint room with 6 knees to do, the epidural is placed and dosed in holding before the previous case is outta the room. If it's a dude patient, I put the foley in too. Is that in my job description? Absolutely not. Does it shave ten minutes off this case? Absolutely. Think outside the box. As a resident, you're doing your own cases so this scenario is not applicable, but thinking outside the box is. Once your total joint epidural is in and dosed and you're in the room, is the circulator running around and behind? Could you put the foley in? Could you put the bovie pad on? Could you hold the leg if the surgeon is being held up because theres no leg holder in the room yet? In summary, throw out the term it's not in my job description. Help when you can.
All the above things I've done myself. I'm sure the great minds on this forum can add many more examples of how to Take Command Of The Flow.
It's quite easy to monitor your monitor screen during the start of many surgeries and at the same time lend a helping hand.
It's also quite easy to stay ahead of your room. Go get the patient yourself. Make a phone call.
I'm challenging you. Not every day. Just pick ONE day. Where you will not take no for an answer. Where you will do whatever it takes to make the day go faster.
Again, this a valuable trait in private practice that is not taught in residency.
It will make you stand out when you start in your new practice after emerging from residency.
The challenge is TAKE COMMAND OF THE FLOW.
You'll be amazed at the results.
When you are making your living doing cases,
Time is money. And a cuppla hours shaved off the end of your day is more than money since everyone benefits. Surgeons are happy. Patients are happy.
More than likely you settle into the flow, wait around, take a whiz, saunter to the resident's room to check your email, run up to the fifth floor to "check some labs" so you can run into that hottie nurse again, etc etc.
And wait for your beeper to go off.
This kind of mindset happens in private practice too.
Settling into The Flow.
Thing is, an advocate can break the flow.
Here's the Jetpearl:
Taking command of the flow can shave a cuppla hours off your day.
Yeah, I know.
You're a resident.
Which means the harder you work, the more work you'll get.
Alotta exposure is great when you are a resident but you don't wanna burn yourself out.
This is a challenge for my resident colleagues which will show you how much you can make a difference in turnover time. Making a difference in turnover time out here is GOLD, my friends.
Because it is the exception, not the rule.
If you are the exception rather than the rule,
opportunities arise to you.
The dude with the most feathers in his hat wins.
A great feather to have is to know how to push a room.
Back to the challenge:
Pick a day where you have a high volume room of cases. Maybe you've got 6 total knees. Maybe you've got 2 gallbladders, a hernia, and a cuppla FESSs. Whatever. But pick a day with a buncha cases.
Then set into your mind WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE DONE TO MAKE THIS ROOM GO FASTER I'M GONNA DO.
I've been doing this near fifteen years and guess what....I still think like this. Little time saving here and there adds up to a cuppla hours saved at the end of the day in a room with 6-8 cases.
Here's some examples:
1) First case: Patient isnt in holding yet, you're there early to do an epidural for a total knee? Don't wait. Go to day surgery and roll the stretcher yourself. Same day nurse say's "we're waiting on phlebotomy for the type and screen." You say "I'll draw it. I'm taking the patient."
2) You're done with the epidural in holding. No sign of the circulator. Call the room. "Yeah hi its Dr Jet, can we come back?" Circulator says the room isnt ready. Look at your watch. "OK. It's 0710. Tell me when I can roll back and I'll meet you in the room."
3) You're done with case number 2, outta recovery, ready for case number three. You take a whiz, go to holding. No patient. Call the front desk. "Yeah, hi, Dr. Jet. Next patient for room nine isn't in holding. Whats up?" Front desk nurse says "the transporter was tied up in room 12 til justa few minutes ago. I told him to head to the seventh floor when he was done." Hang up. Call the seventh floor. Transporter there? Great. No transporter? Go to the seventh floor to get the patient.
4) During your case, make sure the circulator has sent for the next patient in a timely fashion. I can't tell you how many delays I've experienced because someone "forgot to send."
5) I work in a supervised environment. When I'm in a total joint room with 6 knees to do, the epidural is placed and dosed in holding before the previous case is outta the room. If it's a dude patient, I put the foley in too. Is that in my job description? Absolutely not. Does it shave ten minutes off this case? Absolutely. Think outside the box. As a resident, you're doing your own cases so this scenario is not applicable, but thinking outside the box is. Once your total joint epidural is in and dosed and you're in the room, is the circulator running around and behind? Could you put the foley in? Could you put the bovie pad on? Could you hold the leg if the surgeon is being held up because theres no leg holder in the room yet? In summary, throw out the term it's not in my job description. Help when you can.
All the above things I've done myself. I'm sure the great minds on this forum can add many more examples of how to Take Command Of The Flow.
It's quite easy to monitor your monitor screen during the start of many surgeries and at the same time lend a helping hand.
It's also quite easy to stay ahead of your room. Go get the patient yourself. Make a phone call.
I'm challenging you. Not every day. Just pick ONE day. Where you will not take no for an answer. Where you will do whatever it takes to make the day go faster.
Again, this a valuable trait in private practice that is not taught in residency.
It will make you stand out when you start in your new practice after emerging from residency.
The challenge is TAKE COMMAND OF THE FLOW.
You'll be amazed at the results.
When you are making your living doing cases,
Time is money. And a cuppla hours shaved off the end of your day is more than money since everyone benefits. Surgeons are happy. Patients are happy.
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