Commentary
By the end of 2003, I knew I was getting out of the Air Force (AF). I had been stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska since November of 2001, working as an Operating Room (OR) nurse in a busy, understaffed OR. While we toiled away banging out cases, I saw our immediate leadership as mostly lazy white-gloved “clipboard” nurses—and no, that’s not a compliment. We had a mixed bag of staff. Many were excellent; hardworking and dedicated. Others purposely dragged their feet just enough to ensure their room’s scheduled cases didn’t end first—because finishing your scheduled cases meant you got the urgent and emergent add-on cases….