How to get yourself ready for a long day in the OR?

Lifeofanurse · Oct 29, 2011

We only had a short clinical round in OR. Thankfully.

I got out of one of them...the second...I dang near went down for the count.

and it was a short surgery...just freaked me out.

It was a lap-hysterectomy. Not a pleasant thing to watch...

the removal of the uterus is what got me...

too traumatic. Made me say ...NEVER ever would I do it that way.

Long recovery or not.

I'll take the traditional route.

I don't ever want to do OR again. Not for me.

I wish you well if it's your cup of tea.

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2011

monica,

recently there was a thread addressing your issue. i copied and pasted my response. i hope these suggestions help.

try some high protein foods for breakfast. my fave is boiled eggs that i peel and put into a ziplock bag the night before, so i can just eat them on the way to work in the morning. i also love the "naked" drinks-they are full of protein, and the blueberry one has a ton of b vitamins in it. another great breakfast (if you like fish) is to mix a packet of salmon with some walnuts. it sounds gross, but it is 'super brain food', as my indian friend calls it. it is packed with protein. he introduced this to me one day when i was complaining of being hungry as a hostage at 0930, and still had at least 3 hours to go until lunch relief rolled around.

compression hose-good call! most people forget to do this.

get some danskos if you like the way they feel. they are great for standing all day long. my feet never hurt at the end of the day, even when i have been standing for 12-15 straight hours. i promise that it will be the best $120 bucks you will ever spend.

if you know that you are going to be in a really hot room, grab a bag of sterile water/saline out of the freezer, put a stockinette around it (or you can wrap a baby blanket around it) and then using some 3-4" cloth tape, tape that sucker around your waist, with the bag resting on the small of your back. you are gonna look like you have a badonkadonk booty, but you will be comfy! i do this when i know that i am scrubbing in the burn room, where the temps are 90+. if you feel awkward about asking for a bag of water or saline, buy some of those gel thingies that you freeze to put in a cooler-they do just as well.

some masks are different than others, and i find that i can breathe through the green ones better than the blue ones. which mask are you using?

Monica08 · Oct 29, 2011

I use the blue tie-ons but I plan on buying the cloth masks. Are they advisable? I tend to have pimple when I use the disposable ones. Do you have the link to the thread that was similar to mine?

commonsense · Oct 29, 2011

What are your pre-scrubbing in rituals? How do you get yourself ready and prevent yourself from hypoglycemia when scubbing in? Ive had my fair share of hypoglycemia moments and that caused me to scrub out. tips?
Have you ever felt dizzy while in surgery and almost fainted?

Find a good pair of shoes.

Anisettes, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2011

I use the blue tie-ons but I plan on buying the cloth masks. Are they advisable? I tend to have pimple when I use the disposable ones. Do you have the link to the thread that was similar to mine?

I've used cloth masks in the past for the same reason, all of the disposable face masks break my face out - I had what looked like a perpetual butterfly rash. The cons are that they don't have the same filter protection as the disposables, you need to change out the mask between each case (as you should be doing with the disposable ones) and you have to launder them yourself - which gets old. They are also a bit expensive and don't last forever, after several washings they start to fray.

If your hospital will buy them, I found the 3M duckbills to be the only disposable masks that did not break me out. They are a bit more expensive and my hospital would not buy them. I bought a case from Amazon and have been keeping them in my locker. I got tired of the upkeep with the cloth ones, so it's worth it to me to buy them myself.

FlyOR · Oct 30, 2011

I don't know if this will help, but I treat a day in the OR like an athletic event. I make sure I go to bed early, prepare everything I need the night before and kind of block out life for those eight hours. I eat protein at about 0630 and then a second protein breakfast during my break. (I joke that I have become a hobbit-what no second breakfast today?) I wear Danskos, compression knee highs and if you can elevate one foot on a stool or the bed, it helps your back in a long standing case. (FYI, never touch the bed if there's a microscope involved, you'll get hissed at by everyone, for good reason.)

I also have found after three years that if I keep myself physically fit, I weather work days better. Finally, if you're going to see something that might gross you out, look at it purposefully. I remember one case that if I was going to lose it, it would probably be that one, so I made myself stare at it, and then I shrugged. Okay, gross, let's fix it.

Hope this helps.

gymnut · Oct 31, 2011

Hi Monica!!

I just started a thread about the same problem you are having.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/almost-fainted-twice-633223.html

I got some great advice so I hope it helps you too!

Monica08 · Nov 1, 2011

Thank you! It really helped. All the while I thought I was abnormal for almost fainting in the OR. Today I'll be scrubbing in on a neuro case. I guess I just have to remind myself to breathe all the time. thanks again! :)