Fatigue and Burnout
The OR is a busy and fast-paced environment. Long hours and shift work can cause weight gain, injuries, and sleep disturbances which can affect one’s mood, response time, and cognitive function. Acute and chronic sleep deprivation can affect executive functioning, impaired coordination, and communication. (Smith, 2019)
🧠 Graded Activity
In Blackboard, complete the Graded Activity: Addressing Fatigue and Burnout.
Noise in the Perioperative Environment
On your first day in the OR, take a moment to just note all noises that occur simultaneously. You will discover that the OR is not a quiet place. There are many different machines, voices, and alerts, such as:
- The pulse oximeter
- The anesthesia machine alarming
- The cautery machine and smoke evacuator beeping and suction whenever activated
- The constant noise of the suction
- The surgical team asked for equipment/instruments and communicated their findings
- The phone rang with urgent lab results
- The anesthetist talking with the resident
- A pager sounding
- The circulating nurse asked the scrub nurse if they need additional sponges
- The tourniquet timer alarming
- The overhead fire alarm or code blue alarm being activated elsewhere in the hospital
These are just a few of the noises you will encounter. Sometimes surgeons listen to loud music and have their cellphones alerting them of text messages during procedures.
All these noises combined can make communication difficult. This is dangerous as it can lead to clinical errors, cause distractions, or even impair concentration during pivotal moments of a surgical procedure.
🧩 Practice Activity: Reducing Noise in the Perioperative Environment
Choose one or multiple responses to answer the question. Select “Check” when you feel confident in your answer.