Over the past week and a half, I have spent in excess of $7,000.00! By the end of this week, the amount will be well in excess of $10,000.00!!!!
Luckily, I am spending my employer's money and not my own!
I have been covering/working in Materials Management. I have been responsible for the inventory of supplies and equipment, reviewing the upcoming surgery schedule, the ordering of supplies, arranging the acquisiton of necessary instruments, and trying to balance between what we truly need, to do what we need to do, versus; what do we need to do, and what do we need to do it!
In orthopedic surgery... there is a lot of 'hardware' used... screws, plates, etc... A screw that costs $ 0.03 at a hardware store... the medical equivalent... costs $ 130.00+
It is truly mind boggling!
Although my current responsibilities are more of a "behind the scenes" kind of position... being the nurse that I am, I can not help but be drawn into the fray of things! So I have been helping out, getting patients ready, recovering them from anesthesia, relieving for breaks/lunches, and otherwise being available to do the odd little things that nurses do!
All the while, I have been amazed at the 'Grand Dance' that is going on around me! Being a half a step or so removed... it is truly amazing to see everything that goes on in order for a patient to have surgery! From the front desk/check-in, the Pre-op, the float nurses the day before, the circulators and scrubs, SPD, the docs, the PACU, the housekeepers... everyone working independently, yet together!
It is truly mind boggling!
The next time you have surgery, at least in an outpatient setting... know this!
There are at least 15 people that are involved in your procedure/surgery!
Complete strangers. They do it every day Monday thru Friday, yet... they are still committed to doing the very best that they can do in order that your experience goes well!
True dedication!
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Since this post, I have been thinking about how patient's eventually come to have their surgery... and I realized that I left a lot of people out of the equation!
You see, when a patient first arrives, they meet the front-desk/receptionists. They in turn contact the schedulers who arrange the appointment. On the day of the appointment, the patient first meets the Clinic Receptionist, who checks them in. Then the Medical Assistant who measures vital signs and get the patient ready for the exam. The Doc or PA then sees the patient. If X-Rays are indicated, then the Rad Tech visits you...
I think that is about 6 or 7 people...
Now, I have not even mentioned the Medical Records people, nor the IT person that helps maintain the computer system, nor the phone operators, the facilities manager, or the numerous administrative people that make sure our facility runs smoothly, contact the insurance companies, etc...
That's at least 10 more people...
Then there are the Physical Therapists, the DME people...
So, I'm up to 20+ people, that are not directly involved in a surgery! Add in the 15+ people directly and inderectly involved in the actual surgery...
35:1
Now that I have written this comment, I have realized that it should have been an entirely seperate post!
Hehehe! ;)
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