Please tell me I am not wrong!

Specialties Operating Room

Published

I work at an outpatient surgery center (physician owned). The other day one of the doctors had the nurse feed him during the surgery. She had fruit in her pocket, and would literally lift up his mask and feed him during the procedure. I know this is wrong! I work with this doctor tomorrow, and have prepared myself to say no if he asks me to do the same thing. Again, I know it is wrong I just need a little validation to give me strength tomorrow!

Specializes in Operating Room Nursing.
I would not feed anyone during a case. Its too easy to contaminate something. If I was circulating a case that went so long that the surgeon and tech were both about to fall out from fatigue, I think it would be time for everybody to break scrub, have a quick snack and get back in there. A count can be done beforehand to make sure nothing is retained. I'm sorry but there is no excuse for food being in an OR.

You might think it would be time for everyone to break scrub but the surgeons may disagree with you there, are you going to demand that they break scrub? Most of the surgeons I work with just want to keep going until the case is finished.

I don't know about you but I've been in working in the OR long enough to be confident in bringing food and drink in and not contaminating the sterile field.

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Specializes in PeriOperative.

I feed/water patients during procedures. My specialty is neurosurgery, and we do a lot of awake crani's "without anesthesia" (we inject local before pinning and making an incision). These surgeries can last 6-8 hours, and the patient is often positioned for an hour or more prior to surgery if they have to go to CT in pins.

I feed them colas, ice water, and saltines. None of the powers that be or the neurosurgeons complain.

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Specializes in LTAC, OR.

We have a neurosurgeon that will cover the field with a sterile towel, break scrub, and go downstairs to the cafeteria to eat. Everybody else just stays in the room and waits for him to get back! I don't think he goes to the cafeteria anymore, though...one time a patient's family saw him down there. :lol2:

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Specializes in Operating Room.
You might think it would be time for everyone to break scrub but the surgeons may disagree with you there, are you going to demand that they break scrub? Most of the surgeons I work with just want to keep going until the case is finished.

I don't know about you but I've been in working in the OR long enough to be confident in bringing food and drink in and not contaminating the sterile field.

Nope I wouldn't demand that anybody do anything. I would just tell them that if they want food or drink, they can break scrub and go get it. Its up to them whether they want to keep going or not. I can't make them break scrub just as they can't make me feed them. I've been working in the OR long enough to know that.;)

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Specializes in Operating Room Nursing.
Nope I wouldn't demand that anybody do anything. I would just tell them that if they want food or drink, they can break scrub and go get it. Its up to them whether they want to keep going or not. I can't make them break scrub just as they can't make me feed them. I've been working in the OR long enough to know that.;)

Lucky for you that you work in a place where breaking scrub is not seen as bad practice. If I had my way, nurses wouldn't have to scrub for longer than 5 hours.

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Specializes in Operating Room.
Lucky for you that you work in a place where breaking scrub is not seen as bad practice. If I had my way, nurses wouldn't have to scrub for longer than 5 hours.

So what do you do if you're scrubbed and its time for you to go home? We can't get overtime so we have to leave or leave early another day:crying2:.

But yeah scrubbing out in our hospital isn't frowned upon. They really don't care either way as long as there's someone scrubbed while the case is going on. We have a urologist who has been having problems with his prostate (oh the irony) and he breaks scrub sometimes 2-3 times on nephrectomies and Percs.

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Specializes in Operating Room Nursing.
So what do you do if you're scrubbed and its time for you to go home? We can't get overtime so we have to leave or leave early another day:crying2:.

But yeah scrubbing out in our hospital isn't frowned upon. They really don't care either way as long as there's someone scrubbed while the case is going on. We have a urologist who has been having problems with his prostate (oh the irony) and he breaks scrub sometimes 2-3 times on nephrectomies and Percs.

If we're scrubbed and it's end of shift that's just bad luck, we stay until the case is over. For 16 OR's we have just two late staff for relief. Our department has the highest overtime rate in the hospital. I have noticed that many nurses do not want to scrub for the last case on the list and there is a lot of conflict over it. I've seen many nursesbully and intimidate others into it which is unfair.

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Specializes in Operating Room.
If we're scrubbed and it's end of shift that's just bad luck, we stay until the case is over. For 16 OR's we have just two late staff for relief. Our department has the highest overtime rate in the hospital. I have noticed that many nurses do not want to scrub for the last case on the list and there is a lot of conflict over it. I've seen many nursesbully and intimidate others into it which is unfair.

:eek: We're staffed 24/7 so the only ppl who really get overtime are the ppl who scrub with the difficult surgeons. No one likes to go in those rooms so sometimes they'll beg ppl to stay with them. But even when that happens they have to leave early on another day. But that's awful that there is bullying going on with nurses at your hospital. But that's a consequence of a policy like that. There's always gonna be bad seeds who are always looking for a way to get out of work. But those are everywhere unfortunately:sniff:. We have several nurses who know how to scrub but only do so if there is a desperate situation and we are short on techs.

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Specializes in PACU, Surgery, Acute Medicine.
However when I've been scrubbed for looooong procedures and not being able to scrub out i've had my team member feed me and and provide me with water. You can go on about standards all you like but if you deny someone basic human needs then you are placing your team members health at risk as well as the patient. It's a simple fact that if you're dehydrated and have low blood sugar levels then you become fatigued very easily, increasing the potential risk of a sharps injury as well as risk for retaining items.

Holy. Cow.

You clearly feel well-supported in this practice, and I won't try to talk you out of it. But has your management ever heard of this great thing called "a break"? Or its even better sister function, "lunch"? If you can't go for 4 hours without eating and drinking, then you're in the wrong field. If your management makes you work for more than 4 hours without a break, then they are in violation of OSHA. If I found out that the OR staff had been eating and drinking in the room during my procedure, I'd be apoplectic with rage.

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Specializes in PACU, Surgery, Acute Medicine.
I would not feed anyone during a case. Its too easy to contaminate something. If I was circulating a case that went so long that the surgeon and tech were both about to fall out from fatigue, I think it would be time for everybody to break scrub, have a quick snack and get back in there. A count can be done beforehand to make sure nothing is retained. I'm sorry but there is no excuse for food being in an OR.

You might think it would be time for everyone to break scrub but the surgeons may disagree with you there, are you going to demand that they break scrub? Most of the surgeons I work with just want to keep going until the case is finished.

I don't know about you but I've been in working in the OR long enough to be confident in bringing food and drink in and not contaminating the sterile field.

I can't even believe we're having this conversation. At my facility, if anyone even brought food or drink into the back hall, let alone an actual OR room, they'd be fired. Eating is what breaks are for, and even surgeons can break scrub for 10 minutes if they are on an all-day case and need something to eat. What is everyone doing when the surgeon has to pee, holding up a urinal under their gown? If it's a female surgeon do you just haul in a bedside commode and pull her scrubs down for her, give her a good wipe afterward?

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Specializes in PACU, Surgery, Acute Medicine.
I would be happy to be relieved and scrub out. Unfortunately, the powers that be really frown upon scrubbing out, especially during laparotomy's (my speciality is general surg) unless you're going to pass out/be sick. I have been on working committees arguing about this very issue and it always ends up with the no scrub out rule. :confused:

The powers that be who won't let anyone scrub out doesn't seem to be bothered by the food and drink in the OR. The general policy is 'we never deny anyone food or drink if they are scrubbed all day'. They are absolutely convinced that if another nurse scrubs in for you then an item/instrument is going to be retained.

So given that I'm not allowed to be relieved, I bring in one of those food supplement drinks and get the scout to feed me through a straw. It keeps me going.

That is simply in violation of OSHA, flat out. They *must* give you a 15 minute (paid) break for every 4 hours that you work, *and* half an hour (does not have to be paid) for lunch. They are not allowed to say they don't like it, it's a federal law.

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Specializes in PeriOperative.
That is simply in violation of OSHA, flat out. They *must* give you a 15 minute (paid) break for every 4 hours that you work, *and* half an hour (does not have to be paid) for lunch. They are not allowed to say they don't like it, it's a federal law.

This is an international forum, and not everyone here works under the same labor laws.

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