Anesthesiologists/CRNAs sleeping during surgery?

[dry dre]

Having seen the poll on patients waking during surgery, I was curious to see how commonly people have caught gas-passers with their eyes closed.

There are two CRNAs in my institution who are known to get a little sleepy from time to time. I frankly couldn't believe that such activity was a joking matter, but maybe it goes to show how much things are on auto-pilot (high priced) at the head of the table.

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[doc_strange2001]

Yeah aint anesthesia GRREEEAAATTT! I love it.

 

[bigdan]

OP-
I didn't fill out the poll, and I'm not a doc (yet, or so I hope). But I went to observe one of our local neurosurgeons for 4 procedures (1 removal of a brain tumor, 3 Ant. cervical diskect). The gas man fell asleep once in each of the surgeries; I don't know if that shocked me more than him dropping the blade on the floor before picking it up and trying to use it ( a nurse stopped him) prior to an intubation, or when he'd let us all know that he'd completed reading the ENTIRE New York Times (finished it in procedure #3). So I guess I've seen it 4 times, but on one day only.

dc

 

[Twiki]

Isn't the floor in most OR's actually cleaner than a patient's mouth (at least at the beginning of the case)? Now an IV and other invasive procedures must be absolutely sterile...but a laryngoscope blade? I have intubated patients gurgling blood and vomiting in the ER so a blade on the floor hardly seems a big deal.

 

[bigdan]

Twiki-
Good point. But as an "outsider", it was just a little unsettling to see...the bathroom has less bacteria than the kitchen sink, but we don't wash dishes in the toilet...

dc