Behind Closed Doors: Playing Games

Recognizing the contests of my youth in everyday moments in the OR.

As a child I loved games. These tests of wit, luck and athletic ability taught me everything I needed to know about winning, losing and life. In fact, I often take everyday occurrences in the OR and try to match them up with just the right game, like ...

• Scrabble. Free charting in the EMR with spell check.

• Monopoly. There are surgeons who demand to work with the same person, for every single case, every, single, flinging day. King or Queen for the day (in their own mind anyway).

• Clue. Who’s been hoarding those supplies we always seem to be short on? Who’s guilty of heating up that noxious two-day-old fish that could cut through even the most antiseptic-smelling environment? So many mysterious acts of abhorrent workplace behavior to investigate, so little time.

• Crack the Whip. Trying to steer this stretcher around that corner first door on your left into PACU is pure poetry in motion. Anesthesia is always at the head driving, and I’m always at the foot steering. At times I needed another at the head of the bed calling shots.

• MineCraft. Walking into the robotics room in the dark.

• Basketball. Techs wadding the paper trash up and heaving it across the room toward the trash like a long-range three-pointer. Stop throwing stuff. Who do you think you are? Seth Curry? (Yes, I meant Seth, the lesser-known Curry is a superior shooter.)

• Jump rope. Cords, cords everywhere; cords, cords, send Paula tumbling onto her derriere.

• Solitaire. Because sometimes you just want to be left alone to do your job.

• Trivial Pursuit. When you’re taking a patient’s history, and you learn a little more than you need or want to know about their extracurriculars.

• Cootie. Some of our patients arrive with little friends hitching a ride to the next event. Sometimes a full body glove would be the only appropriate apparel.

• Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots. What pediatric dentist days feel like. Those cute little kids can kick harder than you think.

• Battleship. Just let me sink his Battleship already. He’s been deserving of it for a long time. It’s a great place to do it. All that water from the shoulder on the floor.

• Charades. Hand signals in the OR. Sometimes it’s the only way to communicate or the only thing that keeps you from screaming your head off.

• Barrel of Monkeys. Some people just make it more fun to do what we do. (I am obviously one of those people. What? You don’t think I am ...)

• Pictionary. Sometimes it takes drawing a picture to understand what they think they want.

• Candy Land. The supervisor’s office always has a dish full of candy.

• Twister. Oh, the positions you contort yourself into during those long, strange, trying cases.

• Tag. It’s FINALLY 1500 and I go, Tag , you’re it.

• Five-card Stud. This has been brought to you by the Surgeon, CRNA, Circulator, First Assist and winding us all up is the Scrub Tech.

• Yahtzee. When it all finally comes together and you get it just right. Let’s run it back tomorrow. OSM