NOTE TO SELF - Breakfast before surgery is good!

Today was another day of clinical placement at the hospital

As usual Nina and I met at the cafe at 8am and had a nice catch up chat till about quarter to 9 and then made a move to speak to our two consultants and see what exciting things they had in store for us today.
Before leaving the hospital cafe to go to the ward I remembered last week and how noisy my stomach was an hour after surgery started because I hadn't had any breakfast so, not wanting to repeat the same embarrasing thing I prepared!
Biscuit in the handbag and off we went to work...

Today was day surgery. Pretty different from the normal theatre life.
I have to say that (... and this is just for reflective purposes...) that some of the people who were operated today looked so sore to me that I wouldn't have sent them home for at least a week let alone a couple of hours later but anyway... I suppose doctors know better, or at least they should!

Our green scrubs on and Nina and I proudly marched into the day surgery theatre.
First surgery was repair of an hernia...
Surgeon cuts, surgeon pulls, surgeon explains... and my stomach goes mental!!!

"Oh no! I forgot the biscuit!"
And that was me... I started to feel a bit weak because of lack of sugar and decided that sneaking to the changing room to grab a couple of bites off the biscuit I had just bought would have been great so I could quickly return into the theatre to enjoy some more cutting up... It was a master plan but... well, it didn't go quite that way.
I did ask to leave to go and eat the biscuit! I said I was wanting to go away for just a moment and started walking towards the door... Before I could actually realise what was going on 5 nurses followed me, grabbed me, brutally chucked me on a bed, leaned the bed at an angle so to have my feet higher than my head and put a cold compress on my forehead... "Don't worry" they said... It's ok to faint... it always happens the first times!

WHAT?!?!

I didn't even see it coming, I was just going to grab a quick bite... :-S
"But I was not about to faint!" I protested "I'm just starving!"
Well, same result as talking to a wall... They were determined to save me!
It didn't matter at all I told them I just needed breakfast ...to make it clear I even considered explaining that I was actually taking great pleasure in seeing all the gory bits but I'm afraid they would have looked at me as a little monster so I refrained!
They said I was really pale but hey, since when I live in Scotland I'm Casper - the revenge!!!
They said my pulse was slow but my pulse is naturally like that...
Oh well, since I lost the battle I took it with philosophy and laughed about it... probably they have loads of people fainting... obviously seen how fast they reacted.

And at least now I have definitely learnt my lesson and know to have breakfast before I go into surgery, so I don't scare anybody and my stomach stops being noisy in the least appropriate moments!

Comeback

I know, I know... I have been absent from the blog for ages!

No, I don't have any excuse for it... I could say as usual that I was busy (and I was...), that I had exams (and I did have...), that I was not in the mood (and I wasn't...) but I suppose the real reason I haven't been writing for a while is that I got lazy.

I got caught in so many things to do and need for rest that given to choice to update my blog or sit with a book I have chosen the latter many a time over blogging...

But at college we have been asked to keep a reflective diary and also I got told form some of my friends who are ahead of me in the medical training that, once at university, keeping a reflective diary is quite mandatory so I have decided that blogging equals reflecting and I have resumed my writings for the joy of my fans! LOL...

College is going ok, I don't even want to go and talk about the exams that are creeping up because I'd just sit and cry so I'd rather pretend I'm ready for them (...or I still have enough time to work on what I need to know) and make crying sounds a last resort...

We have started clinical placement at the hospital. FANTASTIC!

I have been one of the lucky ones allowed to go in an area I was interested into...
I am in surgery.
So, the first day I arrived, I got sent to the changing room, given a set of greens (scrubs!) and chucked in an operating room... Thank goodness my friend Nina was there with me.




To be honest we were both quite disappointed we didn't even feel a bit faint or anything... I'm not sure if it's because we both watch Scrubs or ER but it was a breeze!

The second time we were sent to an orthopedic theatre where they repair joints. We only saw two surgeries rather than the 5 we assisted to the first time but they were brutal!

Still... not even a grossed out face!
Not when the surgeon started to use hammer and chisel on a full open knee and not even when he cut open a patient shoulder to remove a cyst as big as an egg!

Nina and I both watched with a big grin on our faces... go figure...

We got asked to reflect on what we would have done different but what am I supposed to say?

I'm not a surgeon, not yet and maybe never will be so what would I have done different?!
To be honest I had a great time and, if I really have to pick on something the surgeon did, I suppose I would tell him that I thoroughly admired his skills but he had to trim his sideburns... they were atrocious!!!

And this is all from the operating room so far :-)