Those that follow me on other forms of social media may already know that, today, I actually had the privilege of observing in the Operating Room.
Those that have been reading up on my posts may also know that I’ve had a rocky past couple of weeks--mainly because of my lack of enthusiasm and motivation about my studies (or anything in general, really). Before diving into the deets about my experience, I want y’all to know that I HAVE gotten over that slump! I think today was truly a turning point in my whole clinical experience. For the past few weeks we have been in there, it hasn’t been much of a joy to any of us.. mainly because, prior to clinical day, there is so so so much to do. So, the thing is, we get our assigned patient 24 hours before clinical day (we all usually go to the hospital to get this information around 0600); then we have class until 1600 that same day; then once we get home, we have to do research about out patient’s conditions--which of course makes sense because how will be able to care for them properly if we don’t know why they have been admitted, their past medical history, their past/current medications, their allergies, etc. the list goes on. But ANYWAYS.. we have to do these papers (called Pathophysiologies) on at least 3 of their existing conditions (most of the patients on our floor have at least 7 and I’m not even exaggerating) where we talk about the condition (i.e. Necrotizing fasciitis), the patient’s specific signs and symptoms, medications related, and labs related. This takes about, more or less, 6 hours to do. AND WE START CLINICALS AT 0630. Sleep is hardly an option on this night. So anyways, I guess the stress of all that has taken a toll on my classmates and I. I DON’T mind the research, its just all the tedious paper work that I absolutely hate! *Side note, the students from other semesters do say it gets better. We’ll see.
Sooo.. the operating room definitely got me hyped up again about being in the hospital! Hah, probably because I don’t have to do any Patho’s this week and it was more of a day to absorb experiences. Okay so, today, I watched 3 surgeries. (And, disclaimer, I will not talk about anything too patient-specific as this is just for educational purposes). It was definitely a learning experience.
I started off as following the OR case manager around. However, when she left me in the operating room of the first case and started floating around elsewhere, I thought it’d be more beneficial to shadow the circulating nurse. She was great--explained the procedure to me, hospital-specific protocols they follow, and just basically gave me respect granted that I am only a student. She knew I was enthusiastic about learning from her and, therefore, my day with her went wonderfully. I was able to ask my questions without feeling uncomfortable or stupid for asking them. I would go into the technicalities of her role as the circulating nurse, but I think this post would sound more boring to y’all than exciting hahaha.
I’ll just briefly describe each case and if you have an questions about any one of them, shoot me an ASK!
Case A: Bilateral Hydrocelectomy
Which is basically the removal of accumulated fluid in the tunica vaginalis (surrounds the testes) and even in the scrotum itself. They use a cautery (that’s almost like a lazer/tiny burning iron rod/electrical rod) to burn/sear away the tissue in order to drain out the fluid around the testes. Patient “A” definitely had a lotttt of fluid in there. The testes were huge--Make a fist and it was probably bigger than that. The team was very thorough, precise, and funny too! It was a straightforward procedure but it was definitely interesting to see.
Which is basically a removal of a cyst in the back of Patient “B”s neck. So, this patient was awake during the procedure and took it like a champ. All they used was Lidocaine (a local anesthetic--like the ones they inject your gums with at the dentist and I’m sure the dentist uses Lidocaine as well). I don’t think they had an idea of the size of this cyst because the root of it was soooo deep in the tissue. I think the surgeon said it was deep within the muscle. But anyways, it came out the size of a golfball almost. Which was cool to see!
Case C: Laparoscopic Appendectomy
Which is an invasive procedure to remove the appendix. I felt like I was in a Grey’s Anatomy episode because the operating room used for this procedure looked like something from the show hahah. It was bigger, dimmed, and they had screens set up around the operating bed for the camera they would be using to look inside the belly. For me, the most fascinating thing to see was all the lap-appy instruments they were using and how thoroughly each was manipulated. I think my favorite instrument was the ENDOCATCH because its basically this rod they stick in through one of the incisions and, once in the belly, it releases this fish net looking thing that the surgeon will put the specimen in (in this case, the appendix) and compact it and get it out of the incision. Haha, I know i sounded like a n00b on that one. But I swear I learned so much more than it sounds!
Overall, great great day. I honestly wouldn’t mind working in surgery if any doors are open in the future.
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