The staff in the OR
Posted by Esther Fabian : September 24th, 2009
From left to right: Ryan Pakulski, Erin Severance, Sheila Foster, Amy Lett and Diane Bouillon
Last year at this time, Sheila Foster, staff nurse in the UT Medical Center operating room, contacted me about loading a screen saver on the hospital computers that would recognize Surgical Tech Week.
She supplied all of the information, and put a good amount of time and effort into it. A few weeks ago, she contacted me again to do the same thing this year.
Surgical techs may never be seen or heard by a patient, but it’s one of the fastest-growing professions in the Unites States. These specially trained professionals are responsible for ensuring safe and effective surgery by making sure that the operating room is safe, that all equipment is functioning properly and that operative procedures are conducted under the safest conditions.
I contacted Sheila to ask if I could highlight her and what she likes about being a surgical tech. Much to my surprise, she informed me that she’s not a tech, she’s a staff nurse. After talking a little more, I learned that she contacted me simply because she wanted to do something to recognize the hard work of her colleagues.
So I write this to salute UT Medical Center’s surgical techs and also to recognize Sheila, who takes an attitude toward her co-workers that is an excellent example for the rest of us. When we appreciate each other, we provide safer, more patient-centered care, we enjoy work, we help each other out, and we’re happier in general.
To be happy or miserable. It’s hard to believe that this is a choice, and even harder to believe that we sometimes choose to be miserable. But it is a choice, and Sheila’s chosen to foster a work environment that helps her (and those around her) to be happy.
Esther Fabian is the director of health care marketing at The University of Toledo. Although she is a graduate of Bowling Green State University, Esther has willingly traded in brown and orange for the blue and gold. Over her nine years of employment at the institution, she continues to be fascinated by the incredible things that UT Medical Center professionals do every day to help people and loves learning about the many aspects of health care through those exceptional people. Esther hopes to use this journal to give folks a peek into the world of UT Medical Center, and maybe an occasional glimpse into the world of a working mom and owner of many, many pets.
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September 25th, 2009at 10:46 am
This is a great story and hopefully one that will be read over all of UT. We all need to recognize that there are many, many levels of work but that all work is important to service our students and patients. I applaude Sheila for her recognition of the work others do and the choice she has made to be a positive…not a negative…at my place of work and alama mater.
Candy Hughes
Undergraduate Admission Office