It's a good thing they're unconscious
Today's topic: all things surgery! I spent my rotation today starting out on the Hechema suite (it's basically named after someone who died at the hospital, but it's a pre-op and outpatient procedure floor, like chemo and stuff). I went up to the floor and almost right away met my patient; she was in for removing pins from a previous fracture and a total hip replacement. YES. That's what I GOT TO SEE. Wow.
The nurse I was with was number 1, a graduate of Berea, and 2, the wife of a professor I had long ago (aka my first semester here.) But anyway, we took the patient down to the OR floor and did all our pre-op dressing and counting. Yes, I was gowned from head to mid-knee; I didn't have to wear the shoe covers. But at around 8:15 this morning, we were in the OR until I finally had to leave at 11:30. It was such a cool experience that I wish I could describe, but unfortunately, it is definitely one of those "you had to be there" experiences. The surgery itself started at about 9:00; the first 45 minutes were spent counting the supplies (which we had to do afterwards too), scrubbing the patient, prepping meds, and positioning (which took FOREVER). A lot of times I was just watching and wondering what they were talking about, because there was this guy in there too called the Zimmer rep. (Zimmer was the name of the company they used that manufactured the "hip and femur.") But he really knew his stuff, and that's all I have to say about that.
I was actually surprised how fast time went. I didn't do any skills; just watched. But it was so neat to see pretty much the entire perioperative process; from the pre-op and meeting with the family to being in the OR watching all the action. I was unable to leave the OR with the patient while she was moved to the PACU area, but I got to see a bit of how that worked as well. Although I must confess, though I really enjoyed what I saw today, I'm not entirely sure OR is my forte. My feet and legs are so super sore!
Next week is my last week of clinicals for the semester. I'm not really sure how I feel about that.
The nurse I was with was number 1, a graduate of Berea, and 2, the wife of a professor I had long ago (aka my first semester here.) But anyway, we took the patient down to the OR floor and did all our pre-op dressing and counting. Yes, I was gowned from head to mid-knee; I didn't have to wear the shoe covers. But at around 8:15 this morning, we were in the OR until I finally had to leave at 11:30. It was such a cool experience that I wish I could describe, but unfortunately, it is definitely one of those "you had to be there" experiences. The surgery itself started at about 9:00; the first 45 minutes were spent counting the supplies (which we had to do afterwards too), scrubbing the patient, prepping meds, and positioning (which took FOREVER). A lot of times I was just watching and wondering what they were talking about, because there was this guy in there too called the Zimmer rep. (Zimmer was the name of the company they used that manufactured the "hip and femur.") But he really knew his stuff, and that's all I have to say about that.
I was actually surprised how fast time went. I didn't do any skills; just watched. But it was so neat to see pretty much the entire perioperative process; from the pre-op and meeting with the family to being in the OR watching all the action. I was unable to leave the OR with the patient while she was moved to the PACU area, but I got to see a bit of how that worked as well. Although I must confess, though I really enjoyed what I saw today, I'm not entirely sure OR is my forte. My feet and legs are so super sore!
Next week is my last week of clinicals for the semester. I'm not really sure how I feel about that.
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