Operation Collaboration: Vendor Reps – Partners in Surgical Care

“Where are your trays?”

Few phrases spike stress levels faster, and often, all eyes turn to the person in the red hat. But what really happens behind the scenes before those trays ever reach your back table?

In this powerful Operation: Collaboration episode, we pull back the curtain with medical device regional sales manager Bruce Finney to reveal the real world of vendor reps: high-pressure preparation, complex logistics, split-second problem solving, and the constant balance of being both essential to the team and still a guest in the room.

From implants and instrumentation to communication breakdowns and OR realities, this conversation will change how you see the role of the rep and why true surgical success depends on collaboration from everyone involved.

Listen now and step into the OR from the other side of the red hat.

#operatingroom #ornurse #vendor #scrubtech #surgery #collaboration

Operation Collaboration: Facilities – The Infrastructure of Safe Patient Care

This week, we’re stepping outside the OR and into the world of Facilities, the department quietly powering everything from air and water to electricity, pressure, and environmental safety. Without them, surgeries simply don’t happen.

Join us as we talk with seasoned facilities consultant Kathy Neal about how Facilities’ teams keep the surgical environment safe, compliant, and running through power outages, HVAC challenges, regulatory demands, and even natural disasters. This conversation is a powerful reminder that collaboration across departments is what truly makes patient care possible.

Tune in to learn more about the team working behind the walls, above the ceilings, and beneath the floors.

#operatingroom #collaboration #surgery #ornurse #scrubtech

My Journey Into Perioperative Nursing

We might not be celebrating Perioperative Nurses Week this week, but we’ve always got time to shine a spotlight on perioperative nursing.

In this week’s Articles On-The-Go, Lindsey Joyce, MSN, RN, CNOR shares her own journey into perioperative nursing. From thinking the ICU was her forever home to finding unexpected inspiration in the operating room, this episode is a reminder that sometimes the path we don’t plan is the one that fits us best.

Whether you took a traditional route, jumped straight into the OR, or are still figuring out where you belong, this one’s for you. Come along with Lindsey and reflect on what sparked your own curiosity and why you chose the OR.

#operatingroom #ornurse #surgery #scrubtech

Operation Collaboration: Pharmacy – Medication Safety in Motion

Have you ever wondered what really happens behind the ‘black door’ between the OR and pharmacy? 👀💊

In this week’s First Case interview, we sit down with Zahara, an experienced inpatient pharmacist from San Diego, to uncover the unseen work that keeps surgical care safe and moving. From medication shortages and regulatory compliance to constant audits, refills, and real-time problem solving, Zahara shares how pharmacy and the OR intersect every single day, and why better communication can remove barriers and protect patients on both sides of the red line.

#operatingroom #ornurse #pharmacy #scrub #scrubtech

Operation Collaboration: The Lab – Partners in Precision

This week our Operation: Collaboration season continues with a deep dive into the often-unseen world of the Lab. In this episode, former laboratory associate supervisor turned OR nurse Anna Goodman bridges both sides of the specimen cup, breaking down cultures versus permanents, demystifying frozen sections, and explaining how real-time communication between the OR, pathology, and blood bank can directly shape surgical decisions and patient outcomes. From “deli slicer” histology humor to the critical role of accurate labeling and coordination, this conversation highlights just how intertwined every department is when it comes to delivering safe, timely care.

#operatingroom #ornurse #surgery #laboratory #scrubtech #nurse

Operation Collaboration: Sterile Processing – The Foundation of Surgical Readiness

Sterile processing doesn’t run on magic, despite what we may sometimes think. In today’s interview, we’re joined by Angela Benson, a sterile processing education specialist, to talk about what really happens to our instruments long before they ever reach the back table.

From decontamination and assembly to sterilization, documentation, and case cart build, this conversation pulls back the curtain on the complex, detail-driven work that makes surgery possible. We also dive into common points of miscommunication, misconceptions about SPD, and how simple things, like better communication, pre-treatment, and mutual respect, can make a huge difference for teams on both sides of the red line.

#operatingroom #ornurse #sterileprocessing #scrubtech #surgery