While some people are attracted to high-stress environments and drawn to jobs with potentially life-changing ramifications, the idea of being a surgeon or a pilot can seem nightmarish to a lot of us.
But at the same time, you never really know how much downtime a job is going to have until you’re actually doing it. And in many cases, that depends entirely on which day you happen to clock in on.
But whether it’s due to that understanding, the benefits of experience, or simply the right personality type for the job, we can often find veteran professionals calmly and comfortably navigate a situation that would make some of us faint.
But as one highly unusual story illustrates, it’s also possible to be a little too comfortable on the job.
On February 25, a Sacramento plastic surgeon named Dr. Scott Green found himself operating on a patient.
As The Guardian reported , it was during this procedure that he received a call from a clerk representing the Sacramento Superior Court.
This was regarding a traffic violation trial but the clerk hesitated to proceed once he saw Dr. Green clad in scrubs and heard beeping and suction noises in the background.
As the clerk said in a video that was live-streamed on YouTube, “Are you available for trial? It kind of looks like you’re in an operating room right now?”
But while that may have seemed like a good reason to reschedule the trial, Green confirmed where he was and said he was ready to proceed anyway.
According to ABC News , the clerk then explained that the trial needed to be live-streamed as traffic court cases are required by law to be open to the public.
To this, Green said he understood and silently continued his surgery while the clerk and a police officer waited for the judge to arrive.
But once Court Commissioner Gary Link arrived, his shock and discomfort with the situation became clear.
As he said in in a YouTube clip cut from the proceedings, “So unless I’m mistaken, I’m seeing a defendant that’s in the middle of an operating room appearing to be actively engaged in providing services to a patient. Is that correct, Mr. Green? Or should I say Dr. Green?”
Although Green confirmed that was true, he also said that there was another surgeon doing the procedure with him so he could talk while that other person worked.
This, however, did not reassure Link and he decided it would not be appropriate to go forward with the trial, instead electing to set another date.
As ABC News reported , Green then apologized, saying, “Sometimes, surgery doesn’t always go as…”
It was at this point that Link interrupted him, saying, “It happens. We want to keep people healthy, we want to keep them alive. That’s important.”
The exchange that takes place after Link’s arrival and before Green’s apology can be seen here.
Although Link acknowledged Green’s apology, The Guardian reported that the medical board of California is now seeking to investigate the matter further.
As they said in a statement, “The board expects physicians to follow the standard of care when treating their patients.”
Presumably, this standard doesn’t encourage taking unrelated calls while in the middle of surgery.
h/t: The Guardian , ABC News
