What really happens inside an operating room and what does a scrub tech actually do?

Dr. Caleb Davis sits down with former surgical technologist and surgical first assistant Courtney Hartman for a behind-the-scenes look at life in surgery.

Courtney spent more than a decade working in cardiothoracic surgery, assisting with heart surgery, vascular procedures, trauma cases, and organ transplants. She explains how scrub techs are trained, why the best surgical technologists can anticipate a surgeon's next move, and why having the confidence to speak up can be critical for patient safety.

She also shares unforgettable stories from the OR from a pair of glasses falling into an open abdomen to holding a donor heart while a surgeon sewed it into a transplant recipient.

Caleb and Courtney discuss the demanding reality of surgical call, fatigue in healthcare, traumatic cases that stay with operating room staff, changes in surgical culture, teamwork in the OR, and what separates a great surgical team from an average one.

They also explain what aspiring surgical technologists should know before choosing the career—and why spending a day shadowing inside an operating room might be the most important first step.

Topics include surgical technologists, scrub techs, operating room careers, heart surgery, transplant surgery, trauma surgery, surgical teamwork, patient safety, medical careers, and life behind the scenes in surgery.