While working on-call for the operating room, the call team was activated for what turned out to be an especially difficult, all-day emergency vascular surgery. The high levels of chaos impaired our efforts as soon as we arrived, as the day began with miscommunications that were immediately brought to the attention of the assistant OR manager. This nurse was on vacation with her family; regardless, she answered the early-morning phone call to begin addressing the problems brought before her.

Suspecting that the surgery would be complicated and that the team would benefit from additional support, this nurse cut off her family time early and drove to the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center. After many hours and surgical complications in the case, the team was frustrated and exhausted as we continued to support our patient. To our surprise and relief, the door to the OR opened to reveal our leader, scrubs donned, and surgical gown and gloves in hand. She scrubbed in, and not only did she give us a much-needed break but informed us that she had prepared some food so that we could fill our growling stomachs! Even after all of the call team had gotten a break, she stayed scrubbed in for several additional hours through the end of the case.

With her expertise and an extra set of hands, the remainder of the operation went far smoother than prior to her arrival. She very literally took one for the team: at the expense of her own vacation, she didn’t hesitate to step up to support the VA’s mission, the OR on-call team, and most importantly our patient. We are beyond lucky to have her as a leader; I cannot overstate how much we appreciate her!!