Surgery Clerkship!

After my week of construction, it was time to get back to business full force and start my clinical clerkship.  WILD.  I cannot believe how fast the first two years of medical school went.  I remember the first few weeks of anatomy, where I was bored and terrified all at the same time.  That was an adjustment, whew!  Now, here I am, starting my third year... with my surgery clerkship.  Awesome.  There were many reasons why I decided to do surgery first... I wanted to be fresh off the boards, I wanted an excuse for not knowing where the bathroom is, or how to use the electronic charts... and, I wanted a ride to work every morning with my soon to be husband...    It was a good choice, and I got lucky to be on two excellent services with Zimms giving me tips along the way to learn the ropes.

My "first day of school photo" ... for 19th Grade.

I started out my rotation with two weeks of anesthesia at Magee Women's Hospital.  There I had the chance to learn the basics of what Paul does everyday.  We went to the simulation center a lot, and I intubated a few really expensive simulation people and managed some airways.  I also made sure that I "stayed off the teeth" like Paul suggested, and pulled toward the corner of the room to get a good view!  :)  It was a lot of fun, and I was able to work with some of Paul's classmates and colleagues.   One day I even had the opportunity to work as Paul's assistant down in labor and delivery.  He was at Magee for the month doing epidurals and C-sections... luckily it was the same day I was there observing as a medical student. It was odd, hilarious and awkward all at the same time - but we made it through and followed him around for a day.  Funny funny.

My next rotation was Endocrine Surgery.  I was terrified of the OR in general, but I absolutely loved it when I walked in and learned how to scrub.  It was a blast.  The surgeries were fast paced yet had impressive detail.  I loved getting in on the mix and finishing a few stitches. We even went a week without an intern which meant that I was really getting to have some fun trying to help the team and felt that I was able to learn a lot.

The last piece of my clerkship was spent on Colo-rectal surgery, which I had specifically requested.  I was looking forward to seeing a lot of IBD related cases, colectomies, and J-pouches! It again, was great!  My residents were awesome which makes any service that much better.  It was nice to talk to patients about their care and check in to see how their bowels were feeling.  I really enjoyed it!  

For as much as I loved surgery, Paul was getting a little nervous that I was falling a little too hard for the demanding specialty.  We'll have to see how our lives unfold, but for now... it was AWESOME.