The One Thing You Can’t Bring into the OR
Ever walked into the OR with a knot in your stomach and brought that tension with you?
Lisa and Cindy dive deep into the hidden cost of dragging personal baggage into high-stakes medical cases. They share raw stories of what happens when resentment or frustration leaks into the room and how it impacts trust, results, and your business reputation.
Learn how a simple pre-OR reset and a “door frame filter” can transform your composure, support your team, and make you the rep surgeons want by their side every time.
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
01:56 The Importance of Emotional Control in the OR
04:36 Real-Life Examples of Emotional Impact
07:59 Strategies for Maintaining Composure
20:08 Practical Tips for Emotional Reset
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
The True Cost of Baggage — Bringing emotional baggage into the OR can cost you trust, cases, and your business reputation.
The Power of a Unified Front — Why two reps must check their egos and align roles before stepping into the OR.
Your Doorframe Filter — A powerful mental “stop sign” that helps you reset before you enter the room.
Naming Your Emotions — How naming frustration or anxiety can instantly calm your brain and help you show up composed.
Triggers & Technology — Why your phone might be your worst enemy — and what to do about it before a case.
Posture Matters — How standing tall and taking a breath can shift your mindset on the spot.
Reflect & Reset — Tips for reviewing your past slip-ups and how to do it better next time.
It’s About the Patient — The ultimate reminder: your job is to serve the surgeon and protect the patient, not your pride.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
“Turn off the ignition, turn off the bad feelings — you’re in business mode now.” — Anneliese Rhodes
“Your phone can be your biggest trigger — filter it out like the rest of the drama.” — Anneliese Rhodes
“The secret to eliminating contention is composure.” — Anneliese Rhodes
““Your posture alone can pull you into a good state — stand up, breathe, and shift your energy.” — Cynthia Ficara
“People don’t remember what was said — they remember how you made them feel.” — Cynthia Ficara
“Naming an emotion can calm the amygdala — that’s science, not fluff.” — Cynthia Ficara
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Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Anneliese Rhodes: Welcome everyone to another episode of Secrets and Medical Device Sales, brought to you by the Girls of Grit. Today, we are discussing something that I think probably happens more often than not. Uh, what do you think, Cindy? I, I
Cynthia Ficara: think you're spot on for that because it's amazing that every day we talk about.
Our daily job, we talk about going in and you're thinking of your procedure, you're thinking of your product, but every day we're human. We're bringing ourselves in there too. Yeah. And so today's discussion is really about when you bring yourself along with work and sometimes it doesn't compartmentalize as easily as we want it to.
That's
Anneliese Rhodes: a great way of saying that. You're so right. I mean, we're human, just like you said, we all make mistakes. Um, I definitely have. I've definitely allowed this one to happen, and not necessarily with another person in the room, but that's kind of what we're also talking about today. So, you know, this is really, what are we talking about?
Leaving Contention at the OR Door
We're talking about that contention. That can play a part of any business, I think anywhere, right? It's where you and your colleague may have gotten into a harsh argument over something and one person is trying to up the other one or prove their point is right. Or maybe it was you and your manager and you guys were arguing over something, or even to the degree of you just got your territory cut and a couple of your accounts.
Were given to a new person that just came on, and you've been working for five years on these accounts. You have all the business in these accounts, but your manager thinks it's okay to give those accounts to the new person and you're pissed off. Let's be honest. You are pissed and it's, you know, it's seven o'clock in the morning, eight o'clock in the morning, you're walking to the OR and bygone it.
You're pissed, and we really need to talk about this today because. It is so important that you guys realize you cannot allow that to play into when you go to the or. It's just not acceptable
Cynthia Ficara: and everything. Lisa just mentioned resentment. Contention, frustration, all of those things are not allowed to be part of your outfit that day.
So I love that. Can't wear them, can't bring them. No accessories. They are unwelcome. So I think, um, it's. It's so important to discuss this because it happens without us seeing it. So our goal of today is for you to be aware and for you to see how easily those little buggers, those little resentment, contention, frustration, can leach on and tag in with you and they're not allowed.
Yeah, and it can hurt your business. It can hurt your reputation and it can also hurt your customer. And that is the last person you ever want to feel. Any negative feelings that you just brought in because you're having a difficult time separating it. Yeah. Or you didn't even, or realize that you're bringing it in
Anneliese Rhodes: with, so, you know, I mean, let's be honest, Cindy, you know, medical devices, I got into it because.
It's a pressure cooker, right? A lot of people don't do well in these situations, but people like you and I actually enjoy 'em. So it is a pressure cooker. The stakes are high. You know, I remember, um, working for a company and they, and it was a brand new company startup, and they were basically like, look, you got six months, you got six months to prove yourself, and if you can't do it, you're out, you're fired.
Um, you know, there are jobs out there that are, that are easier than this. And, you know, hey, sometimes they even welcome a little bit of the, you know, bringing in your other feelings. But in this scenario, in the medical device industry, you absolutely have to leave all that behind. Um, but it definitely breeds this.
You know, reps are competitive with other reps, managers are competitive with other managers. Companies are competitive with other companies, and you feel that every single day. And there's nothing wrong with healthy competition. But when it becomes detrimental to your customers, to your patients, uh, and obviously to your sales, that's what we're talking about today.
Cynthia Ficara: And you know, um, you bring up a good point and that is that sales in the OR is a different situation. Mm-hmm. And I, I think in all fairness, that's kind of the, the height, but this can also apply to a high pressure meeting you're going into. But when I think of the OR and, and. And set that aside. I think what is so different is you're walking into a complete, they give it like an orchestra and everybody has a role, and the surgeon is the conductor, okay?
All you need to do is follow the music, you're to follow along, make sure things go well, so. I think we can begin with starting to think about once you enter that orchestra, that, that sacred place, okay. Symbolizing as you walk through that door, everything else is left behind. We've kind of said that before, um, but I think that for.
Visualization purposes. As you're driving through the car and listening to this, we're gonna talk about when you're outside of the room, all these things happening, how we walk through that doorway, how we enter into the OR, and how it changed things. Because I. Your job as a sales rep in the OR is not just to know your product.
It's, it's truly, truly building that trust. They can like you, but they have to trust you. Now, that doubles when there's two of you in there. Sometimes there's three. Sometimes you're in there with a trainee, sometimes you're in there with wait, you're a rep and a clinical, maybe it's two clinicals, two reps, but anytime.
There's more than one person. You can have a little bit of conflict, a little bit of tension, but nobody, nobody can know that outside of your, your team together, and it has to be solved before you enter that room.
Anneliese Rhodes: I was just gonna say, so what do you do in that situation, right? When you. Have a point of contention with somebody and you both know it, right?
It's not like it's like this, you know, oh, I, I, I don't like you, but you love me, that that's not happening. Right? You typically, you all know the situation that's going on, so Cindy, I. How would you coach somebody if they are going into the OR with someone else that they're not getting along with or there's a control issue, right?
It's a, maybe it's a, it's a rep and a clinical, maybe it's two reps, and the new rep that's coming in is trying to learn from the rep that's there. And the rep that's there is pissed off because that new rep just got half their territory. How do you, as the high performer that you are, how do you handle that prior to going into the or?
Well, I
Cynthia Ficara: think that, um, there's, can we stop for a second, Lisa? Yeah. Did not like the question. This would be great to say. So I said
Anneliese Rhodes: Okay. Like. I'll just tell him, Hey, so declutter, um, right after Cindy was talking about, you know, um, what were you talking about Le leaving everything behind. Leaving everything at the
Cynthia Ficara: door before you walk in.
A Lesson Learned in the OR and Parking Lot
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah. All right, so now I'm gonna go into an example. We're gonna cut out that question that I just asked her. We're gonna move that to the end of the session, which we will ask again. So sorry. All right, Cindy. So I have me, you know me, I always have stories and when we started talking about this topic, it reminded me of a situation that happened a little while back, I don't know, a couple years back or whatever.
Um, but it sticks out in my mind and I'll tell you why. So, you know, six. 30 in the morning, I'm driving into the or, um, and an email comes across my phone, which I know I'm not supposed to be checking my phone while I drive, but let's be honest here, I do it all the time, so I check the email. And I'm frigging pissed.
I am mad about what that email said in it, and I'm so mad that I fire a text. Please tell
Cynthia Ficara: me you didn't go off the road.
Anneliese Rhodes: I'm just kidding. Why didn't I didn't? I was pissed and so I fire off a message. Now, mind you. I am racing to the hospital. I have to be there by seven 15 to get into the, or, get my products in, you know, make sure the staff knows what they're doing.
All the things right? All the things that we normally do every day, you know? And now I'm mad. Now I'm like really pissed off and it has to do with my business. And so now that is playing into my brain, along with driving down the road, pulling into the hospital, trying to get in my head when all I need, but I'm mad, so I fire off a text to this person.
And I'm like, you know, let's just see what they say. So I pull into the OR or the hospital. I get all my product out and I grab everything that I think I need. Okay. And now I'm mad and I am walking in in a huff, and I'm just really pissed off. And I walk into the OR and I smile, and I'm nice. And I'm very aware that I do not need to allow this to come into my brain.
To cloud it in any way, shape or form. And I get into the OR and we're going through the case and, and the doctor's like, okay, you know, patient's already here already asleep. Let's get rolling. I forgot something in my car. I forgot something really important in my car that I needed for the case that was going on right then.
And she's like, all right, you know, Lisa, go ahead and bring in everything, you know, we'll get started, you know, next five, 10 minutes, whatever. And what do I do? What do I have to do now? Go all the way back to your car, to the freaking. Now I'm really pissed, by the way, now I'm in lead. It's hot. I'm in. I'm in my scrubs.
I don't think rep scrubs. Rep scrubs did not come out yet. It doesn't matter. I was so frigging hot. I run all the way to my car. I get what I actually forgot to bring in because I was so pissed that I now am running back to the or. I am. Now covered in sweat. I have what I need, which is great, but I'm flustered and I'm hot.
And the surgeon now sees me hot and she's like, you cool? And I'm like, I'm fine. I'm, I'm good. You know? I tell her, yes, I'm great. You know, everybody's la But inside, no, I'm really pissed. And I'm thinking to myself, I cannot believe I did that. I cannot believe that I allowed myself to forget. I never forget, but I forgot.
And then I realize. It was because I was so mad. It was because I was distracted. And you know, that story could go so many different ways, Cindy. But the point I'm trying to make is we have to learn how to keep our emotions in, check our brains on the right wavelength, and to check it, whether it's at the OR door, or even when you're pulling into the parking lot.
Because you can absolutely screw things up and this is not the place to do it. The medical device industry isn't. You have patients on the table and you have surgeons that are counting on you. They expect the cases to go perfectly and they don't need to hear about your problems, and those don't need to come in.
Cynthia Ficara: That story is so spot on, and I bet everybody listening can relate to that because we've all done almost the same thing in, in different ways. You know? I mean, that is so relatable and I'm even feeling your stress listening to you. So I think it's a perfect time to talk about, about sip coffee, how like I know, right?
Take a sip of coffee, right? Just to just jack up caffeine and make you more wired. Right. I am gonna get you some chamomile tea and some, you know, oh my God. Classical music. Just kidding. Okay, so our secret, when we're talking about the contention, whether you're bringing it in, whether it's a contention with a coworker, that you're there together, the secret to undoing all of this contention.
Composure. And so composure meaning emotional self-control. So I want you to, I want you to hear these words in a room. Lives are on the line. Composure is louder than conflict. So the conflict that Lisa felt and had in the car when she thankfully did not crash, texting, driving. But they ask, are you okay?
They said she wasn't perfect, but she recomposed herself. She might have been a little sweaty, but she composed herself. The case goes on and things go well that takes, that takes emotional self-control. Now did she catch it a little bit late as far as missing her graph or, uh, product or declutter? Please, please let me rephrase that.
So did Lisa maybe. Be a little bit delayed in missing something she needed for the case. The answer's yes, but the good news is a high performing rep caught it in time before she actually entered into that room. She was able to compose herself. She was able to calm, focused on what she needs to do, and you know that.
It's not easy, but it's, it's kind of putting all that pride aside and focusing on the moment, being calm and knowing that your, your presence in the room. I. Is something that everybody consent. Okay? Yeah. So if you're upset, people sense it, you're in that room for a reason because you have a specific role.
So if your presence is calming, then it helps to calm the rest of. Of the room, and that's the power you bring, not your pride in winning over maybe a coworker that made you mad or trying to fix something that was out of your control at the minute. It's your composure that brings that presence to be where it needs to be for you to do the exact job you were hired to do in a good way.
So that, guess what? You get to come back and do it again.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah, you're right. Composure is everything and you are so right Cindy. These people feel how you're feeling. We've talked about this before. You know about different things and different scenarios, but the bottom line is that they're expecting you to be just like that room sterile on top of shit, on top of things.
And always composed, you know, somewhat, not relaxed, 'cause that's not the right word, but just really mentally prepared for anything because at some point they're gonna need you. And you know what's interesting Cindy? What's that? Is that what I found is when I'm not composed or I've allowed things to play into me and into my brain, that's when things go bad.
That's usually when things go bad in the OR and now you're like. Scrambling and you can't get your brain to think about things the correct way, and you look like an idiot. And then they're like, what's wrong with you? And the last thing you ever want is a customer to be like, I never want that person to come back in my room.
Even if the case goes technically well, which, mm-hmm. They should go technically well, and sometimes they don't. And you help them get through it. But the point I'm trying to make is even if the case goes technically well. If they have felt anything from you, other than the fact that you have been composed that entire time, they may not want you to come back.
Even if you had a great case, it doesn't actually matter at that point. 'cause guess what? They probably can have a great case with another rep. So it is so important to use what you were saying about. The, OR being the filter, you know, the doorway walking into the or. It's gotta be the filter. You have to keep your composure even if all hell is breaking loose.
It's gotten to a point sometimes, Cindy, where I leave my phone in the control room because I don't, I don't want my phone going off now I usually always have it on silent, but there are certain people that have emergency bypass on my phone. I don't have that on me anymore. I have a phone, I have a watch.
It doesn't make any noise. And if I have an emergency coming through, I'll see it on my watch. But you know what, you've gotta be completely on task when you walk in that up bar.
Your OR Team Must Leave Conflict at the Door
Cynthia Ficara: You're so right. I think I. People don't realize, um, and I'm gonna use this in like money terms, the cost of bringing that extra baggage, that extra accessory, you know, resentment, contention, frustration.
The cost of bringing that into the OR is probably. More it, it could cost your whole business. There's not a dollar form that you could put into that. And I'm gonna take this a step further. A couple years ago I remember a situation where, you know, those last minute scrambles and people are switched, who's covering what and what's doing what, and then there's two of you.
Okay. So I think it's important that I, I wanna set a quick example that sometimes when there's two people, somebody always has to take the lead. Somebody always has to be, did you check the box if. Well, she's gonna be there or he's gonna be there. He's doing that, she's doing that. And then things slip because you're thinking somebody else did.
Then you get there and you're mad at the other person. Or you think that person should have done something right, or maybe you didn't like something that person said because you're mad at them. Well, let me just tell you something, and this is very important, that everybody listens to this. Regardless of what issue you had with somebody, maybe that.
Should have brought extra something and didn't. All of that needs to be handled outside the room because when you cross that threshold and you're in that, or. That person you're working with is your best friend, is the most. You idolize that person, you support that person. Even if inside you're cringing 'cause you're so mad at them.
But you have to have a unified front. This is where composure comes in right now. You choose two of you in outside, decide who's leading, who's taking the lead on this. Somebody's first. The other person takes a more. Uh, secondary role supports everything. Eyes on everything, pick up something they don't miss, and then you can deal with your problems later.
But contention among two people is so well known that I remember this doctor I. Like the case went perfect. There was a question at one point, and the person who forgot something, um, made a comment and the other person just was sticking it to him. Well, that doctor was so upset. Whoa, what's going on with you guys?
Like I. Can I even trust what you're saying here because he felt that they were mad at each other. It's like if you're around somebody and a, a married couple's fighting, it makes you uncomfortable. You're out to dinner, you're like, Ooh, I don't wanna be part of this. So, you know, you feel that, right? Yeah.
You in an or you doctor feels if two coworkers are not getting along. Yeah. And it's not about the results. People don't remember what was said in the or. Your doctors will remember how they feel, and believe me, you want them to feel good.
Anneliese Rhodes: Right. Yes. I love that I, and you are making me think of so many things, but I, you know, I think so.
Practical Steps to Protect Your Composure in the OR
Okay, so let's like wrap this all pretty bow. So how do we, how do we get there, right? How do we get to that ultimate composure? Because you and I can talk about this all day long, and I can tell you that 20 something years ago, I probably wasn't as composed as I am today. And I had to learn the hard way of looking like a jerk in the OR of, you know, not getting cases of people telling me later, oh, well I felt that bad energy.
So. Let's just give it all away and tell people, here are some things that you guys can take home. So one of the very first things is, you know, you need to learn how to do your own pre or reset. For me, let's just take my example of the, of the email, text message, me being pissed. So me pulling into the garage, recognizing that I'm mad.
That needs to be my pre or reset. I need to be parking my car and saying, okay, turn off the ignition. Turn off all the bad feelings. We now need to go into business mode, medical mode, case planning mode. These are the things I need, you know, uh, orthopedics. Where are my trays at? I need to locate everything I need for this surgery.
And you run through the surgery in your head. You think about the physicians, you think about the patient, you think about whatever it is, whatever you make that for your pre or reset, and you do it every single time. And sometimes if you had a perfect morning, maybe it takes two seconds. Other mornings it probably wasn't perfect.
Somebody may have cut you off in traffic. You may have spilled coffee down your pants. You may have to pee so bad, you can't think straight. I do that. Oh yeah, it's guilty. You still have to have the pre or reset. Just do it because it will reset your brain. Now all of a sudden you're functioning at a higher level and you walk into the OR in a better place.
Great
Cynthia Ficara: way to. Uh, build on your reset is having. The doorframe as a filter like that. What tool can you do know that you can't cross that threshold until you've done exactly what Lisa just said, that mental reset. And how do you do that? That's individual. Maybe you breathe ground focus, visualize the case that you've.
Gone through, maybe there's a plan, um, that you can go through, maybe discuss with a doctor, a fellow, just really just start to rehearse. And that doorframe is, is your, your curtain before the show. You don't enter onto stage until you're ready. It is a mental checkpoint. That's where you breathe. And you know, sometimes it's a little bit of, um, just mental mantra.
You know, you tell yourself, whatever I'm feeling is back there, I'm going in and now I'm part of this team. Even saying words like that to yourself can really, really help. Lisa and I talked in a episode a long time ago when we first started, about your posture, and you know what's funny that if you physically step into the position.
That you want to be seen as it does help you reset. So just stand up straight, think about your posture, take a deep breath, and that energy shift will pull you into a good state when you're in the or.
Anneliese Rhodes: I had forgotten all about that episode. Oh my gosh. And I'm like sitting up, as you said, that I did the same thing.
How many people use
Cynthia Ficara: that street? You're
Anneliese Rhodes: so right. You're so right. And I think another thing is, you know, recognize your triggers, right? People talk about this all the time in marriage counseling, um, or, you know, just personal counseling in general. So, okay. Your trigger might just be your phone. I mean, it, it, that thing can do a million things to people, right?
But if you know that you just fi like me, fired off an ugly text message. It's probably gonna ding back with something. Well, you probably need to turn it off like this, notifications off or leave it in the control room, or leave it somewhere else in your bag. Know that it's gonna be there when you're done.
But for the time being, when you walk into the or, like Cindy said, you're filtering out all the bad. Only the good is coming with you. That can, that includes your phone. So filter that out as well. Uh, leave your phone in the other room, turn it off. Whatever you need to do, be be adult, you know, and handle the situation the correct way.
So I, I mean, I loved, I loved the Dora Frame filter. I think that's perfect.
Cynthia Ficara: I. Well, I think that reminding yourself and having something physical is a good, is a good checkpoint. Like if you come to a stop sign, you automatically know you have to stop. So if you start looking at the door as like a stop sign and then, and then you know where you're going.
So we said at the very beginning, just to kind of summarize here, we are all human. We have all been guilty of this. Those that are high performers see the effect that it has. Some of you may not have realized that you even left a trail of destruction. You may be wondering, why am I not getting this business?
Why haven't they called me back? Maybe take a minute, reflect a little bit about your last encounter. You may have done this subconsciously and not even realized, and that's one of the reasons Lisa and I wanted to kind of discuss this today, is that it can be subtle at times, but it can be more evident that you actually.
Think And so, you know, I, I think a great way to kind of summarize is when you have resentment, contention, frustration that has to be left behind, how do you do it? We gave you some quick tips. Take a breath, mental reset, stop at the door. You know, the conflict you have, whether it's with a person, whether it's with an emotion.
Whether it's with a coworker that has to be resolved later, and you have to set yourself into the fact that right now I'm going in and my job is to serve this surgeon and is to be there for the patient. And that's what it is. It's not about you at that time, it's about the patient, and you gotta remind yourself that.
I think that's it. It's hard, but it's so, so important. In fact. One last little thing that I thought was pretty interesting when Lisa and I were discussing this, think about the human brain. You think about us being human, and I'm gonna throw in just a little science-based fact because I thought this was interesting.
So research from Harvard talked about, you know, we're, we're talking about the emotion of contention, frustration and whatnot, but research from Harvard shows that naming an emotion, um. And like you can help regulate if you name an emotion. So I'm gonna read this 'cause we wrote this down. So before stepping into a, or name what you're feeling, you can say, I'm frustrated, I'm anxious.
If you put a name to how you're feeling, this is crazy. This is what we learned in the Harvard research. That acknowledgement alone can calm the amygdala and it gives you. Back control. Now, that to me is crazy, but the human body works in many different ways, so it begins with awareness and then working on making things better.
Now, whether you believe that or not, I think it's great. You can try naming it if you want, recognizing it, be aware. Go in, and you can make a true difference.
Anneliese Rhodes: I love that. All right, so what's our call to action? I mean, we have given so much good stuff today away. I think it's really important that we leave you guys with a couple of marching orders.
Um, other than just to be aware and keep your composure. This is a high stake situation. You've got patients on the table, you have physicians you're working with, but what's our call to action?
Cynthia Ficara: Oh, okay. So I, I'll make a call to action. I was like, ready for you to be like, that's alright. So this is what I think, I think our call to action is for everybody to check in.
Everybody check in with yourself. So I want you to think back, and I think an easy way to do this is it's memory time. Okay. Think back. We don't like to think about bad things, but think about a time that brought you tension, or maybe you remember when you didn't feel really good or you felt tense in an or.
Okay, maybe even unintentionally Now, what would you do differently? Mm-hmm. Knowing what you know after today. Again, the secret to eliminating contention is composure. I.
Anneliese Rhodes: Hey, declutter. This is our snippet. Okay, you guys, I just want you to imagine this for a minute. You're walking into the OR and you have a massive knot of tension in your stomach. Maybe you just had an argument with your manager, or maybe a teammate threw you under the bus, or your territory just got split and you lost half of your clients.
Cynthia Ficara: Today we are talking about something that every rep has felt, but not every rep knows how to handle how you leave the drama at the door and show up in the OR as a true professional. All right, go ahead.
Anneliese Rhodes: Try one more time. All right, Diletta, we're gonna do this one more time. I didn't like what I said. Okay.
Imagine this. You're walking into the OR and you have this large knot of tension in your stomach because you just got into an argument with your manager, or maybe you just found out that half your territory was taken from you, or you didn't make as much money as you thought you were gonna make, and you literally are super upset about it at this point, and you wanna take your pride in with you when you walk into that or.
Cynthia Ficara: Well, today we are talking about something that every rep has felt, but not every rep knows how to handle, how to leave the drama at the door and show up in the, or like a true professional. I.
