After several years of enjoying the privilege of doing surgery, I am continually amazed at the pervasiveness of OR drama — personal issues that, at times, put a damper on the creation of a positive OR culture. Here are the types of interpersonal conflicts that I see on a regular basis.

• The tardiness issue. We all know the scenario. The trusted employee is late again. I know one scrub tech who had such a problem with tardiness that his birthmark appeared when he was 7. The substitute scrub is often the urological surgery scrub tech who knows as much about an arthroscope as my accountant. Then, when the tardy employee finally arrives, the arguments ensue. Resentment from other employees builds and the next thing you know you feel like Mills Lane trying to break up Ali and Frazier.
• The romance issue. Now, I'm not one to demand silence in the operating room. In fact, I try to encourage a relaxed, fun-filled atmosphere. But, do I really need to hear the 2 nurses discuss the latest hot intern? Do we really need to rehash the boyfriend's infidelity or the husband's unwillingness to take out the trash? Grey's Anatomy, move over!
• Nurse Ratched. Being the charge nurse is a tough job. Sometimes she has to make some necessary, but unpopular, decisions. As a result, some charge nurses are held in less than high esteem — and I am quick to hear about it! The trauma of the morning schedule assignments becomes the drama of the afternoon. Murmuring, flat affects and sometimes outright moaning ensue after an employee is informed of her schedule or room assignment. Can I help it if Dr. X moves at glacial speed? That's why I stash a supply of Prozac in my locker. I've also tried to learn some pearls on conflict resolution. Whatever it takes to get the cases done!
• The lunch break. Perhaps the greatest source of conflict I see is what I label as the inequitable lunch relief. The nurse or scrub tech is fast to break for lunch, only to return 70 minutes — not 60 — later. At 61 minutes, you can feel the tension mounting. The sub starts murmuring under her breath about how "lazy" the substituted employee is. This rapidly morphs to nasty assaults on the employee's character and culminates with expressions referring to the worker's mother in less than endearing terms. The emotions are contagious and the initially enjoyable arthroscopic procedure turns into a death march. OR personnel, please try to honor your allotted time for breaks. There is no need to ruffle the feathers of your sub. Besides, security has other things to worry about.

Here's a modest request we all can live with: Let's all do our best to keep the day's drama confined to the soap operas we all enjoy in the OR lounge.