1 4 4
O U T P AT 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 | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5
of real-time health information at (or rather, near) our fingertips. But
these handy little monitors, once networked to a satellite-supported
verification system, could make calling out sick a thing of the past.
The 3-D printer is an interesting concept, but what if the robots got a
hold of it and started printing duplicate copies of themselves, or you?
Brave new world
An OR nurse friend of mine recently remarked, after a trying day, that
she wished she had time to actually be a caregiver instead of just feel-
ing like an interactive kiosk. I guess there are tasks that we human
nurses could farm out to technology, but it makes you wonder
whether technology will take the human factor out of the patient care
equation. It's an important consideration: Our favorite sci-fi robots
appear to have feelings. Anyway, I hope they at least have better taste
in OR music. OSM
B E H I N D C L O S E D D O O R S
Ms. Watkins can be reached at pwatkins12@comcast.net.
