I should just say, if anyone reading this is an OTT, I apologise for some of the details, with which you will all be familiar. There are however, a lot of readers trained in other areas of responsibility in the RAMC, for whom the details are included. ....................
My first day in Theatre had passed by in a blur. In truth I was very excited and could hardly wait for the next day to come along. So, bright eyed, bushey tailed and well-breakfasted I headed for work on day two. It being a Tuesday, it was General Surgery, all day.
I was assigned to one of the Corprals. His job for the day was to make sure the Theatre was in good order and ready for all cases that appeared on the Operating List, as well as to keep an eye on me and ensure that I listened to his every instruction, and to learn how to do things as quickly as possible. (I have to say that the only way to learn in those days was quickly-failure to grasp detail at the first time of telling,and, depending on the teaching technique employed by the trainor, could lead to extra sluice and floor scrubbing duties as well as extra on-call duties,as if there weren't enough anyway.) From memory, duties included making sure the scrub-up area was stocked with sufficient Operating Gown Packs, a complete range of surgical gloves from size 6 through to 8, with 6 being the smallest and 8 the biggest. (The range would be different from theatre to theatre depending on the staff membership.) I don't know if any other OTT reading this remembers this, but invarioubly it was the Gynaecologists who wore the largest size!!!. There was also the need to make sure the Post Op dressings tray was topped up and that all any extra Operating Table parts were ready, such as arm tables, hand tables and stirrups.
One of the more critical pieces of equipment to ensure being available was a stool upon which the surgeon would sit for some of the procedures on the list. These might typically include hand and foot surgery, gynae procedures, rectal surgery, or, sometimes just to sit on while waiting for the patient to emerge from the anaesthetic room, hopefully suitably stunned and ready for knife to penetrate skin without the patient jumping off the table!!!. During my first few weeks, I found that the second biggest sin that could be commited as the gopher for the day, was to have to be told to put the stool under the rapidly lowering undercarriage of the surgeon. He always "knew" it would be there so didn't even look round for it. It was always expected that the surgeons' every move was being anticipated by the hopefully fully alert gopher. The FIRST and BIGGEST sin was to whip the stool away before the surgeon was finished with it. Sometimes the surgeon would stand up and have a little rummage around whichever part of the lower end of the body he was servicing, and a quick witted but sadly mistaken gopher would whip the stool away-complete with smile on face, firmly believing he was being efficient. Sadly, on more than one occasion he would be wrong. Only once though, in my career in theatre, did I see a surgeon end up on the floor, letting fly with deletives that could not be deleted. I will not name the surgeon involved, but, I developed an instant respect for him and his knowledge of the English, and possibly several other languages, when it came to cussing.
Having ensured the Theatre was ship-shape, it was off to the sluice to check out such things as stocks of linen bags, rubbish bags, and copious quantities of detergents and soaps with which to clean the floors at the end of the operating list. At this point, my new found friend and tutor made it quite clear that I was to familiarise myself with all the practices of the sluice, as it was to be my new home until it was thought that I had mastered the art of cleaning all things, movable or immovable. Now, where had I heard that before? Oh yes!-when I started my Nurse training.
Before the day was out, I had made up my mind that I was not as happy with my new career as I had hoped. To be perfectly honest, I never did get to like the cleaning aspect of working in theatres, throughout the years between 1968 and 1986. Don't get me wrong, life wasn't all about cleaning, but it did play a massive part in the overall role of the OTT. With training, demonstration to the bosses of competence and subsequent seniority came progression within the organisation, and more opportunity to practice such other skills as teaching and management in the different aspects of managing day-to-day life in the Theatre and ensuring patient safety at all times.
At the end of Day 2 however, I knew nothing of the future and what it would hold for me. I was not going to waste my time cleaning again. I wanted OUT, and damn it, I was going to tell the theatre sergeant this, as soon as he got back from the bookies shop. I was sure he would understand!!
NEXT TIME........ did he understand? did he listen to me?
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