Return to Anesthesia

During my year as a critical care fellow, I didn't do much operating room anesthesia at all. At most, I would be rushing one of my critically ill patients back to the operating room for an emergent surgery while the assigned anesthesiologist was getting there. As a result, I was a little apprehensive about being back in the operating theater. Everything came back surprisingly quickly. It's hard to shake old habits; once I got back in the room, I started noticing my previous routines. Like most anesthesiologists, I have particularities in how I set things up, and those flooded me like instinct. I ride a bike sporadically enough that I get that feeling too, and it's a weird sensation, all apprehension and reassurance.

Currently, I maintain my workstation like a resident; I have a lot of redundancy, some backups, preparation for the rest of the day. It's pretty inefficient, and I think in the near future, I will refine my routines to save more resources and time, For now, however, I am glad the operating room feels easy, familiar, and safe after a year in the intensive care unit.