Where Teamwork Saves Lives
In Maryland, whenever I mentioned that I worked at Shock Trauma, I would receive a fairly typical response —- “that’s where I’d wanna go if I got into an accident.”
Working in a place like the world famous R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, you quickly learn that there’s no room for individualism. What made the place extraordinary isn’t just the reputation or the high-stakes cases—it’s the culture of radical, uncompromising teamwork. The people who were not accustomed to this mindset always had a hard time working there.
In trauma, the OR truly is a team sport. There is no “I” in team.
The surgeons rely on the anesthesia team and nurses.
The anesthesia team relies on the surgeon, surgical and anesthesia techs and nurses.
And the nurses rely on both to get them through the cases without filling out additional paperwork from untoward incidents and deaths.
To save a life, a whole team has to execute thousands of steps—each one difficult on its own. It always takes a lot to get things right. And a single misstep can potentially erase even the slimmest chance of survival.
I was fortunate to start my career there in anesthesia. Among the many things it taught me, the lesson I appreciate the most looking back was that it taught me the value of teamwork. When everyone puts their ego aside to truly let every member of the team do their jobs well and to their fullest capacity, it’s a certain kind of magic. It is enormously gratifying to witness and be a part of. Like an orchestra tightly in sync. Not perfect, but purposeful. And deeply satisfying.
But that harmony is fragile. It requires every single person in the team to have that mindset. Once someone veers off from that mindset— whether through entitlement, indifference, or plain old ego— it doesn’t work quite as well. The friction creeps in. And when there’s friction, everything takes more energy to make it work well. And next thing you know that same inspiration that made you get up in the morning excited to show up to work everyday slowly slips away, day by day. A slow erosion of energy and enthusiasm.
Eventually, one of two things happens: Either the culture bends to accommodate the dysfunction—lowering the bar for everyone.
Or the culture is strong enough to reject it, and the outlier leaves.
In the end, it’s culture that decides who stays, and who walks away.
Teamwork isn’t just what keeps the OR running. It’s what makes people want to show up again tomorrow.
