“How much longer?” anesthesia will ask. “Only about an hour or so,” a typical surgeon might answer. Then anesthesia is forced to ask themselves, “Does that mean 2 hours? Maybe longer? Maybe shorter? Are they including closing time?” Who really knows, surgeon time is just a complete mystery. It’s as if they work on their own clock and it only makes sense to them.
Until now that is. A new surgical app called Real Surgeon Clock will be available for Apple products next month, with an Android app soon to follow.
The app is surgeon specialty specific, and even trends your surgeon over time to give you even greater accuracy. Putting it to use is easy, as it simply requires your surgeon’s specialty, their approximate age, where they did residency, surgery start time, surgeon’s favorite color, day of the week, temperature outside, time of day, surgeon’s shoe size, will medical students be closing at the end, and how long the surgeon reports is left in the case.
“Real Surgeon Clock has helped me emerge at just the right time EVERY time!” reports Dr. Claude McLandan, a neuroanesthesia attending at Springfield hospital. The OR staff beta tested the app and fell in love right away. “Over a matter of a few days it predicted the remaining time within 5 minutes for all the residents and staff I work with,” said Dr. McLandan. “It’s a game changer, and so easy to use.” Springfield hospital found it was far easier to schedule the day and staff needs with the new app.
The new app has been met with tremendous enthusiasm by anesthesia providers, with only some minor pushback from surgeons. “Seems like a good idea in theory,” says cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. John Lange with a troubled expression, “but the truth is it fundamentally bothers me. I don’t like to be predictable. And further,” he added, “sometimes I like to just mess with anesthesia.”
A sample below shows the input and output of a typical case.
Liver Transplant
Early 50s
Hopkins
6.76 hours ago
Blue
Tuesday
43 degrees
Afternoon
Size 11
Yes
1.5 hours
Actual Time Left: 3.45 hours
Currently in the works are similar apps with the same principles: Turnover Time Clock, Anesthesia MAFAT Clock, and the very anticipated Frozen Pathology Result Clock.
Whenever I have to call a surgeons spouse to tell them they will be late, I always tell them the real time, rather than what the surgeon says and I am always thanked.
I think that joke relies on the subtlety of the surgeon saying “I’ll be done in five minutes”…
it is, most OR scheduling systems have one built in.. from a long time OR manager
I love this! Too funny.
Now if it could only be programmed to have a hot meal on the table . . .
It depends what he wants to do after golf, tennis or office.
OK
Jerry Marinelli – show this to mom
Amusing. Scrolled down to anesthesiologists compare arm tans.
And an app for medical spouses – when they say how long they are going into work for vs how long they take. Usually double and add half an hour.
I can’t wait for the MAFAT calculator “: Surgeon Time Finally Debunked with New App – http://t.co/rxIMlVazfe #hcsm #meded
Joking aside, this could easily be a real app.
Complicated AAA repair:
Surgeon note EBL:
“See anesthesia note”
Anesthesia note:
“Total output- 2200
800 urine, 1400 other”
Surgeon note EBL: 500
Verbal report EBL: 900
UOP by 8h post close: 25 ml
True story :/
Sandra Krishnan
If you want to know now much time is left just ask the circulator, they will know the surgeon better than they know themselves. The attending surgeon is only thinking of the time left until they leave the room rather than how much the actual surgery takes. Oh, and if it’s plastics, triple the time they say. :-)
This is so worth a $20,000 licensing fee for the unit.
This is awesoem. We so need this!
Pretty cool. Shawn P Regan and Melissa Regan. You might like this
All I need from anesthesia is that they keep my patient asleep until the end of the case, which they do 80% of the time.
Christopher Kenney
Jules Burnton?
Love it!!
why do surgeons make good lovers? because when they say they’re coming in five minutes…
michelle lynam
Ridiculous-I am already 100% accurate ;)
Haha–MAFAT :)
yes!
yes!
Also, could you please develop an app for ICU. Firstly for when the patient will actually be picked up & taken to OR, & secondly to calculate how long they’re actually going to be when they give you the 10 minutes heads up for bringing the patient back. I find when they give you that call they’re either already halfway down the corridor, or are still at least an hour off! Definitely EBL app would be handy.
Nice! It should calculate time the surgeon perceives it to take (30 minutes because of serotonin and adrenaline rush) versus real OR time (5 hours).
Will need this every day!
Ha-ha! Funny!
I need an Anesthesia MFAT calculator in my life.
Ebl ap in development, factors include time of day, anesthesia affection for surgeon music, #forbes articles read during case, s&p500 variation on anesthesia live monitor, #drinks consumed with surgeon in past, annoyingness of suction sound, receptiveness of staff to humor and more
Very funny
And is there going to be an app for how long it takes anesthesia to extubate after I’ve told them I’m done???? (Surgeon asking here).
Love Amanda Shank!!
This is hilarious! Imagine the app possibilities that would be proposed by OR nurses. I could suggest a few!! : )
I love this
I love this. They should bundle Surgeon Time with MAFAT and we would have a revolution in OR productivity.
Lol! So true!!
Laura Hudson
Please let me know when the turnover time app is ready as well! :)
Why do you have to know their shoe size and favorite color?
How does the app account for surgeon arrival times? At one point in my career, I worked with an ENT surgeon who was chronically late for his first case of the day. He lived across the street from the hospital…and his excuse was, “I got held up in traffic”
Is there an app that will accurately measure EBL? End the eternal struggle !