Wednesday, August 28

OB/GYN: wk3,day3

haha. i have to force myself to laugh, because there was absolutely nothing deep or funny today. otherwise, i would want to hurt myself.

i woke up at 5am, showered, went to work while the sun was not yet up. (i am amazed each morning that i am waking up so early when i struggled thru all of college to make my 11am classes. forget about the 8am classes. i only went to those for exams).

i got in before my intern, and had finished all my work by the time she started. booYA, intern! taste THAT!! haha. jk. i like my intern.

but after the morning rush, i spent the rest of the morning doing SCUT. scut is the mindless stupid work that the support staff are supposed to do. i.e. draw labs, run labs to pathology, walk pt's to different units, etc. but b/c staff here is so terrible, and they don't act with urgency for the pt's sake, the residents turned to me to do all the scut. literally, for three hours, i was running around doing scut.

when we started rotations, we were specifically told that we WERE NOT to do scut. we were to learn, not run menial tasks. yet that's what i was asked to do, time and time again. the residents know the rules, too. but when they're feeling pressure from the attendings, and they need something to happen NOW, they turn to me. and how can i refuse? say, "excuse me, but i'm not supposed to scut?"

i can't bring myself to say that. my whole grade is the residents' general impression of my work ethic and enthusiasm, and no matter how hard i work, if i show that negative stance, i will get ripped, no question.

to make matters worse, i was asked to take orders and get food from the cafeteria for the residents. they asked politely, but they knew i wasn't going to refuse. i ran into a classmate while i was carrying the orders back to my unit. got an earful of laughs. if he wasn't my friend, i think i would've dropped my bags and went after him.

the one good thing was, i got to eat lunch.

finally, i finished all the scut work they could possibly load on me. a resident that cared about my education told me to scrub in with her for cesarean sections. for which i was grateful. i love being in the OR. or, i did.

first one took 2.5 hrs. they didn't do a great job. i've seen the attendings to much better on my previous unit. these guys were definitely just learning. i was actually part of this one, doing some pretty important things, not just watching.

right after finishing, was called in to scrub for OP#2. this patient had a complete placenta previa, meaning that the placenta was right over the internal os of the cercix, instead of superior posterior, where it usually is. meaning a C-section was definitely in order.

the baby was eventually extracted. as they tried to remove the placenta, it kept fragmenting. uhoh. she kept bleeding and bleeding. apparently, some of the placenta had invaded the myometrium of the uterus, placenta accreta, which called for a historectomy (remove the uterus). so, this unexpected procedure had to take place, but she kept on bleeding and bleeding.

midway thru: "BUB, BUB, BUBBA BUP! "
yep, you guessed it. but this time, it wasn't just gas. there was some substance. i had to keep my upper torso right over her thighs, ready to assist, ready to cut sutures, ready to lend a hand. i breathed those fumes for hours. i don't think i can smell anymore. everything smells like crap.

eventually, all her vessels were ligated, and the operation was over. total time spent in the second operation: 5 hrs.
my feet feel like they are falling apart at the ligaments. my eyes burn. my body is crying.

i finished work at 8:30. i had spent 15+ hrs in work. if i am this burnt for working 15 hrs, how am i gonna be when i work my 27 hr shift?

i'm really, really re-examining medicine...
i just want to be a secretary. just answer the phone, make appointments, and surf the web. that sounds like the ideal job. and find a sugar-mommy. hahaha. jk. kinda.

now that i'm totally beat, i'm going to push this body a little further and work out. ppl's stories about missions trips inspire me. i'm in training for the future. gotta push this body...

CRY!! CRY ALL YOU WANT!!! I'M NOT GONNA LET UP ON YOU!!!



yakob at 9:25 PM

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