Elle panique!
Have just (3.5 hrs ago) begun my surgery rotation, and good lord am I very overwhelmed. I do not think I will enjoy this experience at all, although I am trying to keep an open mind and be optimistic.
The resident in charge is this very scary Russian lady. She greets us--the JMSs--and almost immediately says, "By the way, make sure you write the post-op notes for all of the patients you take to the OR. Don't ask me whether you need to do it or wait for me to do it." Now I am sure that this is good advice, and I intend to follow it, but there are some basic issues that we need to take care of first! For example, what is a post-op note? Yes, obviously it is a note one writes following an operation. But what goes in it? When do we write it?? For that matter, let's address some more basic things, such as "When am I supposed to get here?" and "What am I supposed to do during the day?" and "Am I expected to take call?" Thus far, the sole guidance I have from the resident is that I need to write post-op notes, that if my patients have had skin flaps put in, I need to defer to plastics about making a plan, and that the attendings in clinic like it if I read about their clinic patients before seeing them. (Note: I have no idea when my attendings HAVE clinics or what my responsibilities are re: clinics...)
I'm just a little frustrated. I did behave appropriately assertively though, and I asked her if the other JMS and I could meet with her at her convenience today to discuss expectations for this clerkship more fully, and mentioned casually that both of us have just come off of two months on medicine and have never had surgical experience and need guidance. So perhaps all of these issues will be addressed, but it was just a hell of way to start out...
We also had an orientation to the clerkship today. The clerkship director is this funny, seems-laid-back-but-really-isn't sort of man who very casually said that if were consistently coming in to work before 5 AM, that might be a problem, but 5 or 5:30 is a pretty good time to start the day. The problem with coming in before 5 AM is that, if we do so, and stay until 8 PM each night, we'll have difficulty staying within the work hour rules, which state that we are supposed to "only" work 80 hours a week and be out 10 hours between shifts. The clerkship director also discussed that we should eat breakfast, because sometimes one gets hungry otherwise when one is in surgery straight through lunch and dinner...
I will never see my boyfriend again because I will be sleeping between 9 PM and 4 AM for the next two months.
On the positive side, they gave me a meal card so I can eat for free for those times when I am not standing unmoving in an operating room.
And, on a last note, hi, LiveJournal. I am told that I have been absent from it for 14 weeks. In that time: I took my boards. I passed. My sister went to the hospital for treatment, got better (!), and went home again. I started my medicine rotation. I completed my medicine rotation. I learned that I do not like hospital wards that smell like feces. My grandfather died. The boyfriend and I had a weekend vacation. I got sick on the weekend vacation but recovered. I visited my parents for a weekend and saw my grandmother. I think those are the significant events that require documentation.
Chang, going to read some surgery stuff now.
The resident in charge is this very scary Russian lady. She greets us--the JMSs--and almost immediately says, "By the way, make sure you write the post-op notes for all of the patients you take to the OR. Don't ask me whether you need to do it or wait for me to do it." Now I am sure that this is good advice, and I intend to follow it, but there are some basic issues that we need to take care of first! For example, what is a post-op note? Yes, obviously it is a note one writes following an operation. But what goes in it? When do we write it?? For that matter, let's address some more basic things, such as "When am I supposed to get here?" and "What am I supposed to do during the day?" and "Am I expected to take call?" Thus far, the sole guidance I have from the resident is that I need to write post-op notes, that if my patients have had skin flaps put in, I need to defer to plastics about making a plan, and that the attendings in clinic like it if I read about their clinic patients before seeing them. (Note: I have no idea when my attendings HAVE clinics or what my responsibilities are re: clinics...)
I'm just a little frustrated. I did behave appropriately assertively though, and I asked her if the other JMS and I could meet with her at her convenience today to discuss expectations for this clerkship more fully, and mentioned casually that both of us have just come off of two months on medicine and have never had surgical experience and need guidance. So perhaps all of these issues will be addressed, but it was just a hell of way to start out...
We also had an orientation to the clerkship today. The clerkship director is this funny, seems-laid-back-but-really-isn't sort of man who very casually said that if were consistently coming in to work before 5 AM, that might be a problem, but 5 or 5:30 is a pretty good time to start the day. The problem with coming in before 5 AM is that, if we do so, and stay until 8 PM each night, we'll have difficulty staying within the work hour rules, which state that we are supposed to "only" work 80 hours a week and be out 10 hours between shifts. The clerkship director also discussed that we should eat breakfast, because sometimes one gets hungry otherwise when one is in surgery straight through lunch and dinner...
I will never see my boyfriend again because I will be sleeping between 9 PM and 4 AM for the next two months.
On the positive side, they gave me a meal card so I can eat for free for those times when I am not standing unmoving in an operating room.
And, on a last note, hi, LiveJournal. I am told that I have been absent from it for 14 weeks. In that time: I took my boards. I passed. My sister went to the hospital for treatment, got better (!), and went home again. I started my medicine rotation. I completed my medicine rotation. I learned that I do not like hospital wards that smell like feces. My grandfather died. The boyfriend and I had a weekend vacation. I got sick on the weekend vacation but recovered. I visited my parents for a weekend and saw my grandmother. I think those are the significant events that require documentation.
Chang, going to read some surgery stuff now.