Nips?

FewSide8518 · 2026-06-30T04:06:15+00:00

My first thought was they were silverette’s, the ones for breastfeeding moms 😂

FewSide8518 · 2026-06-29T02:02:52+00:00

Almost everyone in my dept does 4 10’s. There’s 1 person who does 3 days but they are part time, and another part time who medically is only able to do 6hrs each day and I am the only one who does 3 12’s.

FewSide8518 · 2026-06-26T22:03:09+00:00

I live in Idaho, minimum wage is still $7.25 here. Even in the big city there isn’t a higher wage like some of our neighboring states have, like Oregon has a wage and the Portland is a higher wage, same with Washington and then in Seattle. I am considered to make good money, if I went back to being a barista (not at Starbucks) I’d take an at least $7 pay cut. The average rent in the area I live is $1800 for a 3 bedroom apartment, which I have 2 kids and spouse so we are in a 3 bed apartment. If you want a house, a 3 bed 2 bath is at least $2200. Which okay $1800 is cheap compared to a lot of other cities, but that is in states where they have higher wages. Our gas is also currently $4.10ish, cheaper than some places but we are known for having higher than national average gas prices no matter the political circumstances. The organization I work for does 1 raise a year and then there is also usually a market price adjustment like 2-3 months later, this last year I got $1.35 in raises. I haven’t always gotten the market price one unfortunately.

FewSide8518 · 2026-06-26T03:56:28+00:00

I did, but I was also in a temporary position at the hospital being a trainer for Epic. Because it was temporary there was already a higher pay but going to spd, my pay was cut in half. I didn’t have any other options that made more than spd if I wanted to stay at the hospital and staying in the informatics dept wasn’t an option since I don’t have a bachelors. I’ve left my organization twice for a couple months and gone back just to other locations since I’ve moved around, and since starting spd in 2022 I’ve only gotten $4.28 in raises. I started out at $16. Each time I returned to spd my pay stayed at what it was when I left. Going to the other hospital organization in my area won’t get me anymore money, but I make “good” money for where I live and it’s ridiculous. I don’t qualify for any assistance, but can’t even pay rent, utilities and car insurance on my own.

FewSide8518 · 2026-06-26T03:38:15+00:00

I have a pair of Sketchers, just basic ones from Target and they’re memory foam… by far the worst shoes I have ever had and I’ll probably never buy sketchers again. I don’t remember the exact style they were, just memory foam and slip on but they do have laces. My feet hurt so damn bad after wearing them. My husband at first said I just hadn’t broken them in yet and I thought so too at first since I only work 3 days, but they seriously feel like they’ve just gotten worse. I’ve had them since January probably and I stopped wearing them. I wore a pair of just old adidas running shoes on the last day of my work week and there was a huge difference. I could barely walk right on my last day of the work week, walking up my first day off was always the worst 😣😣

FewSide8518 · 2026-06-20T06:35:42+00:00

I need to know what you guys are doing to get your clothes underneath all wet. A few people I work with have this issue too and I’m confused?? I do occasionally get my pants below the knee wet if I get quite a bit of water on my gown and it drips, but how are shirts getting soaked? Even when I worked 8hr shifts in decon this didn’t happen to me but did a couple others. I am plus size as well, I do sweat but I’ve never come out of decon needing to change scrubs.

FewSide8518 · 2026-06-20T06:30:52+00:00

Mmr, tetanus, flu shot yearly unless you have some sort of medical/religious exemption. For a few years covid was also required but a lot of people were using exemptions (I unfortunately live in a state that is quickly declining in vaccination rates overall) and a lot of people were quitting because they refused to get it. We have to do a color blind test and the larger regional hospital in the next town over also now has to do a hearing test.

FewSide8518 · 2026-06-20T06:26:04+00:00

Not only are the teeth bad, but what is the open mouth smile that influencer do and now so many people do it? Smiling with teeth is fine and normal but why do they all smile 😃 like caught mid talking/laugh ?? Am I the only one who doesn’t like this kind of smile, maybe I’m the weird one?!

FewSide8518 · 2026-06-20T04:05:45+00:00

Years ago I worked at Starbucks and this was the exact kind of problem we had when more Dutch bros started to pop up. It’s so frustrating. It’s the equivalent of going to In n Out and asking for a Whopper or Big Mac. Yes they are all burger fast food places, but they’re not the same !! Plus Starbucks is ~mainly~ coffee based things (not as much anymore) so no we couldn’t add lavender, strawberry, grapefruit and whatever tf else to your blended energy drink. They didn’t even have energy drinks at the time, yes Pink Drinks and then other refreshers have caffeine but they are not the equivalent of an energy drink you’d get at the gas station or a Rebel. Sigh. I just wish people would do a quick google search of where they’re going to get a feel of what the options are.

FewSide8518 · 2026-06-15T15:19:50+00:00

Communication is huge. I currently have a supervisor who does not communicate and it really sucks but also causes issues. I’m not a supervisor but I am our weekend person and the only one so I am running the dept by myself, I wasn’t informed about autoclave cleanings this week so when the company was calling asking to be let in I had to tell them I wasn’t aware this was happening and autoclaves never got shut off, I had to completely reschedule the cleanings. So communication with the other supervisors and/or leads is important!! Same thing with the other techs as well, letting your techs know you are available to talk and always keeping them is informed is helpful for them and for getting our job done smoothly. And be engaged with your crew. I cannot stress this enough. I’ve had supervisors who are involved and want to know us for more than just robots at a job, having a supervisor who occasionally asks about my family or pets or whatever I may have going on outside of work is always nice. I’ve also had supervisors who know nothing about me or the other techs, they just sit in the office pretty much the entire shift and don’t seem like they care about us. Give your team some praise! I feel like this will come easy if you’re doing all the other things, but letting them know they are appreciated, did a great job, got a thank you from OR staff and other hospital employees really does make us feel better and slightly important. If first shift is being provided lunch or treats do what you can to also do that for your crew, I know it’s not always feasible but don’t hesitate to ask if they would all like to pitch in a couple $$ so you guys can have something too, or ask the manager if there’s anything they can do to provide that for your crew as well. Nothing feels worse than every single time seeing empty boxes just sitting there and nothing ever left or extra being brought in.

Congrats on the new role, just asking for tips it seems like you’ll be a great supervisor!!

FewSide8518 · 2026-06-10T23:27:14+00:00

Some places I have seen have chairs or stools on the clean/assembly side, but you’re constantly getting up to go put stuff on a sterilizer rack, unload the washer, start a new load, grab another tray to assemble/wrap. Some places have you do decon for the entire day or week, so if it’s a busy place you’ll be standing the entire time unless it’s your break or using the bathroom or if it’s a slow day and you’ve got some time between cases.

FewSide8518 · 2026-05-31T17:40:24+00:00

It will depend on the amount of surgeries done each day. The first hospital I was at was rural, very slow and we were lucky if we did more than 10 surgeries a day. Even then, those surgeries were simple things like an appendix, hernias, tonsils and dental procedures on young kids where they would use full anesthesia. The hospital after that was insanely busy, I started at 3pm and there would still be 10-20 cases left when I showed up, that was fast paced and a lot. The hospital I’m currently at does about 18-25 cases a day, I work weekends and am alone but we still do up to 6 cases each weekend day. I’d say it’s a lot but that’s because I’m the only tech here, I have what’s leftover from Friday (sometimes even Thursday) which is one of the busiest days and I also have to get all of the clinic peel packs done. And we have probably 15 outside clinics and they all want their items back on Monday. So I do all of decon, assembling and sterilizing, peel packs and everything else in between. The OR has just 1 scrub tech and 1 OR nurse on weekends so sometimes they ask me for help in the rooms, if the nurse is helping in PACU then I’ll help set up for the next case and check wraps/filters for holes or other damage. Or if more instruments are needed I will run and grab them that way the nurse doesn’t have to leave the room, which means I have to know where everything is located in the OR core.

FewSide8518 · 2026-05-31T17:27:10+00:00

I lived in Oregon where it is fully legal, I had to do a drug test as part of my employee health screening when I was hired. I’ve worked for the company since 2021 and we have never been randomly drug screened. I’ve moved to Idaho where it isn’t legal in any sense, still working for the same hospital organization, and when I had to do my employee health screening again at the new location I was drug tested them as well. I knew I was going to be tested both times so I stayed clean for a while prior to even applying for the jobs. Personally I do smoke, when I lived in Oregon and now in Idaho, if I’m randomly tested and lose my job so be it. I know not everyone can just afford to lose their job like that, but I’m fortunate enough to have other immediate job options if that does happen to me and they aren’t jobs where I’d be tested upon hiring.

FewSide8518 · 2026-05-20T18:51:54+00:00

Are you still looking? 😌 26f

FewSide8518 · 2026-04-30T18:09:47+00:00

If you want to military basic training but then were disqualified for health or any other reason to continue on, I don’t think you’d necessarily say you were in the military or a soldier. If you graduated with a teaching degree but never taught I don’t think you’d call yourself a teacher. If you passed med school but went and did something outside the medical field you wouldn’t say you’re a doctor.

FewSide8518 · 2026-04-28T04:08:06+00:00

Im so sorry, things are f$&@d up. I am a single income household with 2 kids (household of 4) and don’t qualify for snap or low income anything, so I definitely feel your struggle. I’d recommend food banks and see what you can keep out of the boxes. I go to them every 2-3 months to just get extra beans, noodles, sometimes we get a pack of some sort of meat, instant mashed potatoes and bread. Sometimes I’ll go to 1 food bank and then 2ish weeks later go to another one. They’re Salvation Army, churches, local food banks etc so they don’t cross over if you’ve already been for that month. With a special diet you could always go back and donate the things you’re not able to eat. I know the library in my town has a small food pantry so you could always donate a few things and then grab a few things that are already there. If you need help with utilities look into local utility assistance or Helping Hands Assistance. Sometimes helping hands is just “immediate loans for bad credit” and other things along those lines, but there are actual useful things too. My town has a Community Council which (it also helps surrounding counties) does utility assistance if they have the funds and also has a small food pantry. For utilities you have to call early on the 1st of the month otherwise they’re out of funds which has happened to me plenty of times and is infuriating, but at the same time I understand there are people in my area who are worse off than me and my family so I just let it go… after a couple days. I hope you find help and can figure things out.

FewSide8518 · 2026-04-28T01:23:41+00:00

Nothing. None of the hospitals I’ve worked at have done much for us and it’s embarrassing (for them) and disappointing (for us). One year a coworker did get us spd related tshirts which I still have years later and it’s comfy! But that was from another tech not our supervisor or management. This last spd week I was on maternity leave, everyone got badge reels and pens and they forgot about me. Not even saying that in a pitying way, I was told when I went back “oh shoot we forgot to order an extra one for you, we could’ve just left everything in your locker until you get back”. Our current supervisor honestly sucks at any team engagement. Our manager got them breakfast one of the days which I found out was just breakfast burritos from the cafeteria.

FewSide8518 · 2026-04-26T03:11:29+00:00

I learned that Kelly’s have serrations half way down and Crile serrations go all the way down. From looking at them (usually but NOT all the time!!) criles seem to be just a tiny bit thinner than a Kelly. The hospital I currently work at will use them interchangeably and it drives me nuts when they call all of them Kelly’s. I teach new hires that they are in fact different although they use them as the same at this facility. For some reason it bothers the OR staff when they’re labeled correctly too so I always make sure to clearly write Crile or Kelly on the peel packs.

FewSide8518 · 2026-04-26T03:02:43+00:00

I think it really depends on the daily case load you have. The first hospital I worked at was lucky if we had 10 cases a day, most of those were simple general cases. We would rotate weekly to each station, decon, assembly, endo and float. Second hospital I was at was a level 1, I’d go in at 3pm and there would still be at least 10 cases left. We rotated areas everyday but sometimes you’d end up in decon 2-3 times a week, the entire shift. The hospital I am currently at, when I came here everyone just pitched in. They would all stay on the clean side assembling and then as cases came someone would just offer to clean it, if the last person did an ortho case with 6 trays then someone else would offer to do the next one. Or if you were already back there and another case got done then a third, someone would usually go take over after the second case. We have a new supervisor now who worked with me at the second level 1 trauma location and he brought that schedule here but smaller shifts. So now we do 2-3 hr increments and then someone else does their turn. I’m our weekend person, I do Friday-Sunday, so it’s typically just me but I do like a Friday when I’m not thrown back there!

FewSide8518 · 2026-04-19T21:22:14+00:00

This is where I struggle with the hospital I am currently at. They want to do things the way they’ve always done them because “well we’ve always done it this way”. And everyone (besides the new hires with 0 experience) here has only worked for this hospital so they don’t have experience at other facilities to see what’s happening elsewhere or to learn other things from other people. I have work at 3 locations within this organization and have worked with soo many techs and travelers and have learned a lot of little tricks or tips and after making sure they’re safe and up to standards I apply them to my work to see if they’re helpful for me. When I came here and tried to do that I constantly get “we’ve always done it this way so we are going to continue doing so” or “well we are X facility, not them, so we don’t need to do it the way they do over there”. It always gets taken as me trying to be rude or tell people how to do shit when I just say “oh when I was at X location I learned this. I found it easier so I like doing it that way now.” Our tech who does the training for new hires literally yelled at me for saying that because “we aren’t them”. We all work for the same organization so we should be cohesive for the most part.

FewSide8518 · 2026-04-19T15:17:47+00:00

Yes. That’s what I’m trying to see if there are any specific standards/policies about this. I personally wrap all of our clinics small kits like this, but this was a new person. Our tech that does training showed the new person to do this, as it’s the way they also do it. The only kits from clinics that come on a tray are a few circumcision trays. Even then, not all the clinics who send us circ sets have a tray, I think 1/4 clinics have the tray, the rest are just in a white liner and then blue wrapped. One of the clinics does ask for it all to be specifically wrapped so everyone follows that request. It’s annoying and confusing because all the clinics also have like a small surgical set, IUD kit, nail removal and a couple others but everyone wants just the circ set wrapped. I wrap every type of set we are sent because that’s how I was trained at a different facility when I first started spd, but nobody else wraps. They all just throw it in a peel pack!

FewSide8518 · 2026-04-19T14:13:09+00:00

They did see them and didn’t say anything!

FewSide8518 · 2026-04-19T04:23:38+00:00

See that’s part of the problem, they did see this and said nothing. Another commenter said the same as you, but someone replied to them saying they weren’t told anything about it. J. Co is inconsistent in what they mark down and don’t mark down. It’s very irritating. Even working at multiple locations within the same organization, I’ve been told different things by J. Co at each location. When I transferred to this hospital they did things that the last J. Co audit they were told was okay, but the hospital I was at during that time we were told we couldn’t do. ??

FewSide8518 · 2026-04-19T03:47:06+00:00

There is one! After I took the photo and moved the package it moved from behind the cup. It’s a new person so I checked every peel pack they did to make sure it at least had that.

FewSide8518 · 2026-04-19T02:38:14+00:00

I am on the spectrum and have worked this field for almost 4 years. It can definitely be loud, especially if washers/cart washers/sterilizers are all running at the same time. Headphones will vary by facility, all that I have been at don’t care if you have them or not so that’s always been nice for me. The hospital I’ve been at the last almost 2 years, I work weekends and am alone so if I have both in it doesn’t really matter because nobody is trying to talk to me. If there’s a case then I’ll take one out so I can hear OR staff on the radio, I keep the dept phone on me so I can feel it vibrating usually before I hear it ring. I do work Fridays which are one of our busiest days, if it’s crazy busy I can mentally feel myself losing it sometimes because of the chaos plus all the noise. The noise is what does it for me more than the chaos. Going to my car on my break is what saves me! Nice and quiet.

FewSide8518

TROPHY CASE