The Empty Operating Room

Have you ever been in a large basketball arena when it's empty and only some of the lights are on, or sat in an empty church, or maybe stood on stage in an empty auditorium?  There's something magical about these places when they are empty.  When the TV lights are off and no one else is around, you get some time to anticipate the next performance, to place yourself into the spotlight and dream about making the winning three point shot or hitting the high note to bring the crowd to their feet.

At the end of the day today, I was walking through the OR hallway.  Most of the cases had ended for the day, the rooms were empty and had been setup for tomorrow's cases.  I couldn't help but walk into a room and sit down for a minute, to dream about my opportunity to perform for the crowd.  It's hard to dream about the end of the game before the national anthem has even been played, but it's important to have practiced that game winning free throw before the score is tied with 1 second left and you're at the line to win the game.  

OK, I'm done with the ridiculous sports analogies.  I was just stuck in the moment on my way through the OR and thought I would share.

Taking the scalpel...

As I near the end of my intern year, my attendings are much more comfortable allowing me to yield the scalpel.  At the beginning of the year, I was lucky to be allowed to cut suture.  At this point, it isn't uncommon for the attending to scrub out while I close with a medical student and get the patient to the PACU.

It's pretty scary, taking a piece of sharp steel to a person's skin.  Although I feel like I have a good understanding of anatomy, it's never enough to have just looked in Netter's before going to the operating room.  I'm not the most spatial person in the world, but boy is it important to learn human anatomy in layers.  A couple of days ago, I had a nightmare that I cut a patient's superficial peroneal nerve in an approach to a fibula fracture.  I can't imagine having to go and tell a patient's family that I messed up their loved one.  Hopefully, I won't ever have to figure out how it's done.

Getting permission to cut through a person's skin and mess around with their insides is a big deal.  I think that is not necessarily obvious until you are the one holding the knife...