Published Mar 5, 2009
linda2097
375 Posts
We have one surgeon who often does elective cases from 7am all the way to 1am. How late does your OR allow surgeons to book elective surgeries?
Jarnaes
320 Posts
We like to finish off the majority scheduled cases by 5PM, of course there will be a few stragglers, usually about 5 or 6 rooms running late on a daily basis.
We have to have staff and rooms available 24/7 for true emergencies since we do trauma. But it never fails, there is always a surgeon who will classify a 2AM Lap Gastric Bypass as an "emergency".
maeyken
174 Posts
Our rooms are generally scheduled to end at 1530, although we have a designated number of "late rooms" each day which are scheduled until 1700.
We too have the middle of the night "emergency" electives issue.
Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN
6 Articles; 11,935 Posts
We have cetain rooms open until 1700, but most are supposed to be done by 1530. We have certain surgeons who always run behind schedule, and tonight one's case that was scheduled for 1400 didn't start until after 1930. He didn't roll out until nearly 2230. Which meant that some things that were supposed to be done tonight that truly could have been considered urgent or emergent and ended up on the schedule for the next day.
We have certain surgeons who always run behind schedule, and tonight one's case that was scheduled for 1400 didn't start until after 1930. He didn't roll out until nearly 2230. Which meant that some things that were supposed to be done tonight that truly could have been considered urgent or emergent and ended up on the schedule for the next day.
Why was he allowed to start his last case so late? In our OR he would have been cancelled!
(sorry I know that's off topic... just can't believe it happens!)
Our hospital is all about "customer service" and the docs fall under that heading! They get free food and sodas in a lounge that is much nicer than ours with a big screen plasma TV (we get vending machines and the institutional TV bolted to the wall). You can really see where the priorities lie.
Luckily, anesthesiologists are required for every case, which means every time a surgeon works late, he is inconveniencing another physician. Surgeons don't care about nurses, but they sometimes care about other physicians.
We have CRNAs who do the cases, and an anesthesiologist who is in house 24/7 to oversee them. They don't seem to feel inconvenienced because, hey, they gotta be here anyway.
mcmike55
369 Posts
2097.....you've got a doc that goes 18 hours at a time??!! That seems crazy!! He must be an iron man, not to mention the surgical team.
In our small rural hospital we run only 2 or 3 rooms, with our goal of wrapping up around 1530 or before. Sorry,,,,I've got some trouble visualizing 8,12 or 14 plus OR's, let alone 5 or 6 running all night. I know it happens, but....well...it's my downfall.
Like some of you, we've got a couple docs who missed "telling time" in Kindergarten,,,,and think that they can cram 8 hours of surgery into 6 hours. And do some "scopes" in Endo in between, run over to the office here and there, and maybe see someone during his unofficial "hallway clinic".
Our administration is good at backing us and keeping the schedule contained. We do start early, and run over of course as the situation warrents, but we try not to make a practice of it.
We've only one call crew, and the shi* would likely hit the fan if a doc had the call team tied up on an elective, and a true emergency arose.
Mike
Scrubby
1,313 Posts
We operate Mon to Fri between 8-4. We have limited late staff so If the list runs too late and nobody wants to stay back (which is everyone) the last patient will be cancelled and is put first on the next available operating list.
The surgeons get angry about this but that's just the way it is, you can't just force everyone to do overtime. The most common reason for late runs this is because the surgeons have overbook the room, surgeons are late, the slowest surgeon has held things up.
tiny1
20 Posts
We have a small hospital with one call team and this is an ongoing problem. Every Friday, it is always 1700 and can be as long as 2100 before we get to leave. Administration is not going to say no because they want the revnue.
MERRYWIDOW46
311 Posts
w e run 4 ORs till 7pm, 2 till 11pm and after 11pm is oncall, Sat 2 rooms 7-3 with oncall staff and one room 7p-7a, Sunday 2 12 hour call shifts. Sometimes the elective cases finish AFTER midnight. Call has to come in and then be back at 7am for another entire shift Customer Service to Surgeons 1000%, we are not allowed to say NO or cancel. I had a short call one Sat till 3pm, and they got ****** that I refused to stay and run a second room till 7pm. Oh well. Some surgeons take advantage, one has his block time on Sat.