Comical Yet True Look

Let me introduce you to the mental reality of working in the operating room. There are times where this is the worst part of your day. A once respected now disrespected field in healthcare. So what is it, you ask?

The overlooked but much need field of IONM intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring. If you or a loved one undergoes spine, brain, peripheral, and sometimes heart surgery, one of the most important medical providers is the ghost of the room. A neurophysiologist or similarly trained doctor is sitting at a computer screen monitoring signals from the spine or other neural structures to determine whether an injury is occurring. If the signals indicate a problem, the surgeon and anesthesiologist can be notified and take action to reverse or correct the problem before a nerve or spinal cord injury becomes permanent.

Here is a link to learn more: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00106-020-00824-1#Sec1

However, it has become a toxic capitalist business. No longer are you required to have a doctorate degree. Patients are treated as a number, metrics and dollar amount. The true value has disappeared. To save money, hospitals no longer hire Neurophysiologists, because they save money by utilizing outside companies to send out their own. Which are now, more often than not, people without a background in science or barely a bachelor’s degree. This process saves them both money by exploiting healthcare and building their finanical portfolio, while tearing other ones down.

But no matter what, the field had good days and the memories stick with you. I present to you, a video of a day in the life of the unseen healthcare provider.