Several weeks ago, we received a note in our mail informing us that construction on water pipes, on our street and those surrounding it, would take place. Sure enough I come home yesterday to several dump trucks, bulldozers, and metal pipes lining the street. After a few jolts and loud crashes, I determined that my quiet evening would never actually come to fruition as the workers really didn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. 6PM, 7, 8:30, 9! What is going on here?! Not only had the work continued, it appeared as though they set up shop under the street lights with no intentions of heading home. Our house rattled, I screamed a time or two. Ran to the window to witness water sprouting from the concrete as the excavator shimmied. It was quite a sight. It reminds me of what I teach new nurses and nursing students….
In the operating room, what takes place is not much dissimilar than a construction site. Work takes place all hours of day and night, saws cut through bone, blood springs forth, headlights may help visualize those hard to reach places, and there may be a bit of rattling going on (followed by a scream or two--- just kidding!). After it’s all said and done, human bodies are stitched up, patched over, and the Road Work Ahead signs are removed from the scene.
Why do I paint this picture for those I have the pleasure of imparting knowledge to?
I do so because people have the tendency to view pain in a relative manner. However, the perception of the caregiver should never be that the road work, and pain associated with it, is complete because the appearance of the construction site is now smoothed over. We go hard in the operating room! What lies beneath the pretty little dressings and suture lines includes hardware (removal or insertion), complex routing systems, or newly hollowed out spaces that will forever alter the original design.
I do so because people have the tendency to view pain in a relative manner. However, the perception of the caregiver should never be that the road work, and pain associated with it, is complete because the appearance of the construction site is now smoothed over. We go hard in the operating room! What lies beneath the pretty little dressings and suture lines includes hardware (removal or insertion), complex routing systems, or newly hollowed out spaces that will forever alter the original design.
As caregivers we do not have the luxury of overlooking the jackhammer that demolished the site just days before. Each person is unique and we must appreciate that the underlying modifications that the OR has to offer may also lead to an exhibition of a few outward disturbances; most notably, pain and discomfort.
So the next time you pass by a construction site, say a little prayer for all those undergoing surgery that day.
If you can bear it, watch this clip of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy (removal of the gallbladder). Youtube has plenty of surgeries if you want more!
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