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BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
been touching is finding its way through pinholes. This is how a glove
gives you the finger.
• Tape. Tape's not just for dressings anymore. Silk tape, paper tape,
adhesive tape, plastic tape: We use it like it's duct tape. If something is
broke, we tape it. IV pole won't stay up? Tape it. Equipment won't stay
on the IV pole? Tape it, and use a lot of it. But tape can be irritating,
too, and not just to a patient's skin. If you need that piece of equipment on the pole and you can't take the pole with you, you're looking
at 15 minutes with scissors to cut it free.
• Fluid waste. You know where the flood from a scope case goes.
Even if you have a fluid waste management system that doesn't suck
(which is to say, it sucks really well), a lot of that nasty water still
ends up on the floor. And underfoot. Which we track all over the
OR, to the locker room and wherever we store our shoes at day's
end. Maybe we should have a welcome mat right outside the OR
door. OSM
Ms. Watkins can be reached at pwatkins12@comcast.net.
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | N O V E M B E R 2012