Sometimes the Best Leadership Is Setting Boundaries

During one of my travel assignments on the night shift, I received a call from the ED.

An emergency physician had a patient with significant blood loss who needed the OR urgently.

The problem?

Our in-house anesthesia physician was upstairs managing an emergency C-section. I explained the situation and estimated anesthesia would be available in about 30 minutes. The physician understood.

Over the next several minutes, the ED called multiple times asking if anesthesia had arrived. Every interruption pulled me away from preparing the OR, and I was the only nurse on duty that night.

Finally, I politely but firmly said,

"Doctor, please focus on taking care of your patient. Every time the phone rings, it pulls me away from preparing the OR. I'll make sure you're notified the moment anesthesia arrives and the room is ready, but please stop calling the OR."

The calls stopped.

About 30 minutes later, anesthesia arrived, we brought the patient to the OR, and thankfully the outcome was good.

That experience reinforced an important lesson I've carried with me ever since:

Communication is critical — but so are boundaries.

Everyone wanted the best outcome for the patient, but repeated phone calls weren't going to make anesthesia arrive any faster. They were only delaying the work that needed to be done.

As circulating nurses, one of our responsibilities isn't just preparing the room — it's protecting the workflow so the team is ready the moment the patient arrives.

Sometimes the best way to advocate for your patient is to respectfully set boundaries that allow everyone to focus on their role.

Have you ever had to respectfully set boundaries in the OR so you could focus on what mattered most?