Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Crisis averted after a tense moment in the operating room

Starla Fitch, MD
Physician
April 15, 2015
Share
Tweet
Share

How many times do we start out our day with the best of intentions? It’s probably most days, if you’re at all like me.

Even when we’re going through a spell of negativity, we all try to pull it together for the sake of our patients, our staff, our families.

A couple weeks ago, I was tempted to throw in the towel.

It was one of those days when the last straw was on the horizon.

I walked through the hallway of the surgical center, headed toward the O.R.

Then I saw it.

I saw on the board who was assigned to my room. Instead of my usual team, I not only had “strangers” in my room, but the “new girl” who was still in training.

What the heck? How come I was assigned the burden of getting the less awesome staff? What was it about me that made the Head Nurse feel she could mess with me, my patients, and my schedule like that?

Was it because I was too nice?

At first, I thought “OK. Don’t make a scene. It’s gonna be fine.”

After requesting the correct suture for the third time and getting a malfunctioning instrument for the second time, I said out loud in a tense voice, “Don’t make me cuss!”

I thought about the ripple effect we all see in the O.R. I didn’t want to have a downhill spiral.

It took me a couple minutes to think about my next move.

Was I going to ask for a replacement in my room? Call in the head nurse? Give the entire room a piece of my weary mind?

ADVERTISEMENT

As I proceeded slowly, knowing my next decision was crucial, I made a request.

“I want you to pick a positive word,” I said to the new girl who had already made several errors in less than an hour. “Something like ‘joy’ or ‘happiness,’ ” I prompted.

“Gratitude,” was her quick reply.

I turned to the anesthesiologist and said to him, “Now pick a negative word, like ‘anger.’”

“Frustration,” he said, obviously reading my mind.

I waited a moment.

“OK, team. We’re going to try something. I want us all to breathe in through our nostrils, with our masks still on, and say the word ‘gratitude.’ Then we’re going to breathe out through our mouths and say the word ‘frustration.’ Let’s repeat this three times.”

Knowing I was this close to losing my cool, my team dutifully followed my lead.

Breathing in as I said, “gratitude.” Breathing out as I said “frustration.”

There was a silent pause when the third round was completed.

They looked at me, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I paused, too.

I realized even though I’d been trying to teach them a lesson, just taking that moment had made me feel better.

I sighed.

“OK, team. I feel better now. How about you?”

They all nodded and exhaled a sigh of relief right back at me.

Crisis averted.

In a moment.

Starla Fitch is an ophthalmologist, speaker, and personal coach.  She blogs at Love Medicine Again and is the author of Remedy for Burnout: 7 Prescriptions Doctors Use to Find Meaning in Medicine. She can also be reached on Twitter @StarlaFitchMD.

Prev

How racism makes us sick: The medical repercussions of segregation

April 15, 2015 Kevin 25
…
Next

Top stories in health and medicine, April 16, 2015

April 16, 2015 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Surgery

Post navigation

< Previous Post
How racism makes us sick: The medical repercussions of segregation
Next Post >
Top stories in health and medicine, April 16, 2015

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Starla Fitch, MD

  • A cancer scare changed my life in 7 seconds

    Starla Fitch, MD
  • Doctors experience the world differently

    Starla Fitch, MD
  • No, doctors aren’t to blame for burnout

    Starla Fitch, MD

Related Posts

  • In a moment of crisis, I made a decision to survive

    Harriet Levy
  • What’s wrong with crisis pregnancy centers?

    Nickey Jafari, MD
  • KevinMD on the Stay Off My Operating Table podcast

    The Podcast by KevinMD
  • The climate crisis as viewed by an emergency physician

    Elizabeth M. Barreras-Rivest, MD
  • The present moment as a refuge

    Toni Bernhard, JD
  • A silent moment with a dying patient

    Ramses Perez

More in Physician

  • Why wanting more from your medical career is a sign of strength

    Maureen Gibbons, MD
  • How a rainy walk helped an oncologist rediscover joy and bravery

    Dr. Damane Zehra
  • How inspiration and family stories shape our most meaningful moments

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • A day in the life of a WHO public health professional in Meghalaya, India

    Dr. Poulami Mazumder
  • Why women doctors are still mistaken for nurses

    Emma Fenske, DO
  • Adriana Smith’s story: a medical tragedy under heartbeat laws

    Nicole M. King, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • First impressions happen online—not in your exam room

      Sara Meyer | Social media
    • How Gen Z is transforming mental health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Dedicated hypermobility clinics can transform patient care

      Katharina Schwan, MPH | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why recovery after illness demands dignity, not suspicion

      Trisza Leann Ray, DO | Physician
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
  • Recent Posts

    • How Gen Z is transforming mental health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Nurses aren’t eating their young — we’re starving the profession

      Adam J. Wickett, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why wanting more from your medical career is a sign of strength

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • U.S. health care leadership must prepare for policy-driven change

      Lee Scheinbart, MD | Policy
    • Why the pre-med path is pushing future doctors to the brink

      Jordan Williamson, MEd | Education
    • Why the fear of being forgotten is stronger than the fear of death [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 8 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • First impressions happen online—not in your exam room

      Sara Meyer | Social media
    • How Gen Z is transforming mental health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Dedicated hypermobility clinics can transform patient care

      Katharina Schwan, MPH | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why recovery after illness demands dignity, not suspicion

      Trisza Leann Ray, DO | Physician
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
  • Recent Posts

    • How Gen Z is transforming mental health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Nurses aren’t eating their young — we’re starving the profession

      Adam J. Wickett, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why wanting more from your medical career is a sign of strength

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • U.S. health care leadership must prepare for policy-driven change

      Lee Scheinbart, MD | Policy
    • Why the pre-med path is pushing future doctors to the brink

      Jordan Williamson, MEd | Education
    • Why the fear of being forgotten is stronger than the fear of death [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Crisis averted after a tense moment in the operating room
8 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...