In the latest news, yesterday, the government is trying to have drivers no longer be able to text, use Facebook, cell phones, etc. while driving. This has caused majoy accidents on the road, and the accident rate now exceeds the accidents caused by drunk drivers.

This morning, I also heard that texting, Facebook, cell phones are being used in the OR. Having scrubbed in and worked in the OR, I find this completely unacceptable practice. In my day, there was only a pager, that could be called later. We also did not want to become contaminated and have do the scrub in practice all over again. In the OR, one must be completely in touch with a lot of issues...the count, the order to pass an instrument, maintaining sterile fields both on the patient and on ourselves. This is going on with others in the OR who are not actually at the side of the patient and surgeon. It is found in the person who monitors the bypass machine during surgery.

The expert stated, that the only thing he allowed in the OR was music. Music depended on the anestheologist. Even if music was played in the OR, I never heard it. Under those lights, we where all very hot, did not drink coffee on the mornings of our 8 hour surgery, and were exhausted for the rest of the day.

I have not scrubbed in to the OR in a long time, and truly wish to never do that again. I love to have my patients awake and talking with me and asking questions.

Pipeng, ths is your last warning onposting this smut on our website.. Teresa

 I would like to see all social networking  and texting removed from all nursing units in acute care. Imagine if you were the patient and your nurse is standing in the hall texting  or at the computer checking facebook! Does your facility have a texting and social network policy?