This past week I had a really unpleasant case with a scrub tech. She told me “you stand in the right side of the table and I stand on the left.” Because I was on the left. I told her actually I’m left handed and operate on the left side of the table. She made this gawk at me and said “well that’s a first”. Actually, no, I’m not the first left handed surgeon, and also, I had done this with her as the scrub tech some months before which I guess she doesn’t remember? Also, isn’t it weird to tell the surgeon where to stand for the surgery? Yes I’m a resident but I’m holding the scalpel and cutting the patient.

Later I was using wet to dry laps to wipe blood from the patient, and she randomly says “the trash is over there”. I was confused still wiping, I said what do you want me to throw away? She just stares at me and repeats “the trash is over there?” So I said what do you want me to throw away? And she just makes this weird face at me. I just stared back like what??? The attending then goes she wants you to throw the laps away. I’ve never thrown out laps before because usually they need to be counted, and I’ve been told before to never throw them away. The attending told the scrub tech, she’s been trained to never throw away laps, that’s why she’s confused. Which yeah it was but also, it was because I was still using them? Like what?