A SCRUB NURSE

I was just an orderly working at the Iola Sanatorium in Rochester, New York.  Our head nurse, Ms Lovelace nominated me to be trained at Strong Memorial Hospital to become a scrub nurse.  It meant that I would attend training at the hospital which had 10 ORs which had two shifts.  They were short of scrub nurses.  For me it was a great opportunity to learn a lot about our human bodies.  It would mean working both jobs, but I had permission to leave early in order to attend these classes.

Most of the students were already nurses, but wanted the additional training to supplement their skills.  So there were about 20 students in the class, and I was the only male.

We first learned how to "scrub in" which meant taking brushes and a yellow colored soap and under hot water, scrub our hands and arms, to make sure they were free from germs.  Next we were introduced to the various instruments which the surgeons used to do their many different procedures.  We had to learn all their names and how to hold them and place them in the hand of the surgeon.

Next we were taught the complex anatomy of the human body and the various purpose of each organ.  There are three different ways the body can pump the blood from the heart to the entire body.  We had to understand those three different routes.

We would tour the various operating room and observe different operations and the teaching nurse would explain each procedure as the operation proceeded.  I watched the human body being cut open exposing various parts of the body.  I was amazed to see that there was not much blood at all; the site of where the operation was to take place was prepped and sheets would cover the rest of the body, revealing just the area that the surgeon would be working.  The scrub burse would anticipate the next instrument and with skill would give it into the surgeon's stretched out hand.  Another nurse was also assisting, and was called "the dirty nurse".  This meant that this nurse was responsible to weigh the different pieces of material to understand how much the patient's blood had been lost.  Also to order any other materials which were needed in order to continue the operation.

I was scheduled to assist a surgeon with a minor problem in their upper stomach and the leading nurse asked me to adjust the bright light over the operating table so that the surgeon could see a little better.  I think that the surgeon knew that I was an orderly from the Iola Hospital and resented that I would think that I could help with the procedure.

He stepped away from where he was standing as I was walking toward the bright light over the table and began to curse and swear at me...his voice yelled directly in my face and told me to get out of is $#*#&ing operation room.  Of course the other nurse rushed in between us and started to explain to the surgeon why I was there and that I had finished all the requirements which qualified me to be a qualified scrub nurse.  He didn't listen to her and kept insisting that I leave immediately. I did.  I took off my gown, mask and special shoes we had to wear so that no static would be there around sensitive equipment.

I left the hospital that day thinking that at least I had the opportunity to learn so much about our human bodies...yes I thought to myself, "We are made into a living, breathing, thinking being..."  I really had taken on too much as I still worked at Iola and there I was a trusted person with a solid reputation because they knew I was just a young man trying to make a living in order to raise a family and to pay for my education.

So this is a true experience of mine, and I share it now some 56 years later and try to convey that whatever happens to us, there is always a reason to be thankful.

Now I am in training to become a member of the Carson Fire and Rescue Team and am eager to relearn what I was taught so many years ago.  I'm learning that even though our bodies age with added years, our attitudes can survive almost anything.