Would a surgeon have a mobile phone in his scrubs?

No. There are too many devices with which a cell phone would interfere.

I was joking with a dr of mine prior to a minor procedure with a light sedative (not exactly a surgery) about how he didn’t need a wife because he had an iPhone (with him at the time) He used it to read x rays and emails. I could see how it could be possible. I guess the tops have a pocket right?

There was a story about some doctors that were tweeting at work on their phones, but I don’t know if they always have them on them.

I think it’s pretty likely. Even if they had it turned off while actually in the surgery, I could easily see them getting it out afterwards to check for any missed calls/messages while in surgery and while their phone was off.

As for cell phones in hospitals in general, I see that all the time by doctors, other staff, and even patients and their family members.

Yes, it’s realistic.Doctors in a hospital, even surgeons, need to be reachable, and they don’t carry pagers anymore.

The scrubs do have pockets, right? So even if there are reasons not to, and even if there are rules against it they could have them in surgery (perhaps turned off).

Yes, scrubs have pockets, yes, doctors can put the phone in there. They also might put it in a scrubs jacket, and then take the jacket off in the OR, and then it’s there in the room but not on their person. And it’s normally turned on, because that’s how everyone reaches them while they’re in surgery – the office calling about Mrs. Fabian, whose having some nausea and can she be prescribed something for that, or Mr. Jones, whose gallbladder needs to be taken out tonight so when the doctor is done with this surgery, head on over to the other hospital and he’ll be prepped for surgery, or their wife calling so say “You gonna be home tonight for dinner? See the kids before bedtime?”, etc. And then it’s usually a nurse who will answer the phone and respond if necessary.

They wouldn’t be able to touch it without breaking sterile field, but there’s no reason they couldn’t have it in the surgical suite.

No, cellphones are not allowed in or around there.

You could perhaps have an aide of some kind pass along the message? A nurse? An associate? If its essential that your character have a cell phone, perhaps he need only make a short trip to his office to retrieve it. Or perhaps your character just doesn’t follow the rules and has it on him at all times.

@digitalimpression Well, at the very least, he could leave it in his locker when changing into his scrubs. There’s no reason for him to have to leave it at his office (which might not be at the hospital, and if it was, would more likely be in an office building right next to the hospital than just a couple floors up from the OR) when he can just store it with his clothes and other personal effects.

Yes—everybody carries a cell phone & checks messages. Surgeons routinely walk into the OR with their cell phones. Before they scrub, gown, and glove, however, they usually leave their phones & beepers on the circulating nurse’s desk in the OR, since a surgeon can’t handle a phone during surgery. I know of one who wears a Bluetooth headset while operating, answering calls by pushing a button at his waistband under his gown.

It’s quite acceptable to have and use a mobile phone in an OR. While in the past it was feared that mobile phones may interfere with equipment all electrical devices are shielded from outside electrical interference. Remember hospitals have been using radio pagers since the 50’s.

I would be genuinely surprised if they were allowed to (or would even want to) carry a cell phone into a sterile environment. Students in the labs at my university are regularly chewed out for using cell phones while wearing their gloves… and in such cases, they’re mainly at risk of harming themselves, not a patient.

@gasman Thanks. What’s the “circulating nurse’s desk?” Is that in the OR or outside of it?

@6rant6 the circulating nurses desk is in the OR. OR staff are operator – the surgeon doing the operation. Scrub nurse – a nurse who is sterile and who has knowledge of the operation and the tools need. Their job is to hand tools to surgeon as needed, and assist the surgeon. are responsible for counting out everything before and after to make sure that nothing is left in the patient. You may also have other doctors assisting who are learning a procedure. Anesthetist – the doctor responsible for giving the anaesthetic and responsible for the patients safety during the procedure. Anaesthetic nurse – nurse who assists the anesthetist. Circulating nurse is a second nurse who assists with that equipment that is not in the sterile field but is needed during the procedure as well as passing equipment into the sterile field from storage. You may also have a radiographer if xray is needed and a perfusionist if the patient is required to go on a heart bypass machine. You probably also have an orderly who will assist cleaning the theatre between cases, moving equipment, restocking stores etc.

Even as a visitor if you go to anywhere around people with pacemakers etc. not allowed. So it doesn’t even have to be a hospital or ER. I hope noone has mentioned this already

@6rant6: A great explanation from @Lightlyseared! The circulator is often a very busy person, acting as an interface between sterile and non-sterile areas in the operating suite and keeping an ongoing record of times and events.

@flo Cell phones are safe around pacemakers unless you hold it right over the device. Surgical electro-cautery can be a problem, however, requiring special precautions. Hospital medical equipment is generally not affected by cell phones, either – as was once feared.

I guess they are improving them. I’m searching for the date of this article.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5766358_dangers-cell-phones-hospital_.html

@flo That article references Time magazine September 2006, which cites a Dutch study supporting a ban on cell phones in hospitals . In March 2007 a study at Mayo Clinic was reported that says cell phones have no impact. I live in the U.S., and our local hospitals allow staff, visitors, and even patients to use cell phones throughout the building. There’s an unwritten rule, however, about keeping the phone more than one foot from any sensitive electronics.

One thing that’s changed in recent years is the hospital’s cooperation with cell phone providers at providing hot spots or repeaters (not sure exactly what you call them) to provide a stronger signal, which paradoxically lowers interference. This is because a phone with a weak connection must boost its power to compensate, radiating higher levels of EMI.

There’s also a lot of evidence (not high quality double blind RCT type evidence admitedly) that shows that allowing patients to use mobiles in hospital improves their recovery rate by reducing social isolation or something.

@gasman
-I mean I’m searching for is the date of the article of my link?

-Re. the 2nd link you provided, doesn’t it look like Mayo Clinic’s own article? It is by redOrbit and it doesn’t doesn’t provide a link to an article by Mayo Clinic. I don’t know who redOrbit is. The About Us page:
http://www.redorbit.com/about_us/
it could be owned by a cellphone company, I don’t know.

@flo: Yeah, I can’t find a date in your link, either, but it clearly references the Time article. The redorbit site (which I never heard of) was found in a Google search for the Mayo Clinic report, which was actually published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings March 2007. I have no direct link, but here’s the abstract.

@gasman why did you use the word Mayo Clinic instead of the word redOrbit as a link? I mean, if you didn’t find the article by Mayo Clinic…?
I wouldn’t follow the link “abstract” either which is
daddytypes.com It also doesn’t have any mayo clinic article.

because that’s how several sites attributed the same article recently published on this topic. I (try to) always cite scientific research according to when & where it was done or published. Once a newsworthy article is published, it might be reported by literally hundreds or thousands of news organizations & blogs. Beneath every layer of “what do we know” likes a deeper truth of “how do we know it.”

@gasman So you chose to not go: “Here is reOrbit article about Mayo Clinic’s article. You chose to make it look like it is Mayo Clinic’s own article that you posted?

Re. ”that’s how several sites attributed the same article”. You mean they made it look like it is Mayo Clinic’s own article? No, the ehow article did not, Time magazine did not, and reOrbit (as much as the site could be suspicious) did not do that. And you are blaming others for your own action?

Please, ”Beneath every layer of “what do we know” likes a deeper truth of “how do we know it.” Distraction?