(no subject)
Crazy busy week... I love peds surgery, but at the same time, the way the contract group works here is insane... it's so MM I can't even explain it. So I think I like ONE of the THREE preceptors I have. They still won't teach me to do anything, so I'm a lil frustrated. Spent ALL week at the hospital, wouldn't be so bad if I was getting paid for it. Monday 7-6pm! Tuesday emergency ECMO on Monday's baby so 6:30-4. Wednesday case cancelled... lucky me got to watch ECMO (ie. watch a pump turn for an hour, do a blood test, chart... go back to watching for 8 hours straight--shoot me!!) Thursday 3 VSD closures... you'd think after the second one they'd let me go home since it was the same procedure, same surgeon, same perfusionist... but no. Friday another case like monday but we got done at 3, there was another case going on but I slipped out unnoticed when my preceptor for the day snuck away from me and high tailed it out of there, so I followed! I don't mind one case a day, but when there's monster cases on back to back it sucks!
I've also been thinking about the ethical dilemma of pediatric surgery. I've concluded that my personal decision (if i were in the situation) would not be beneificial to my career lol. If you had a child with a congenital defect so severe that death was eminent if surgery was not done. But to correct the defect it would require 3 surgeries (few weeks old, 6 months old, and 2-3 years old). They would never be able to be a fully active "normal" child. The risk of heart transplant is fairly high. Mortality rates get better with each procedure, but survival for the first procedure is marginal. Are you doing the surgery because it is in the best interest of your child? or are you doing it so YOU don't lose a child? Is the child really better off after the surgery? Are they going to live life, or just be surviving? The kids look so vulnerable after the surgery that the parents can't stand to be around them, but how are they going to thrive and get better if they don't have love around them?
Just some interesting things to think of... I've been doing it a lot this week with our two Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome babies. that's my week in a nutshell... off to bed!
I've also been thinking about the ethical dilemma of pediatric surgery. I've concluded that my personal decision (if i were in the situation) would not be beneificial to my career lol. If you had a child with a congenital defect so severe that death was eminent if surgery was not done. But to correct the defect it would require 3 surgeries (few weeks old, 6 months old, and 2-3 years old). They would never be able to be a fully active "normal" child. The risk of heart transplant is fairly high. Mortality rates get better with each procedure, but survival for the first procedure is marginal. Are you doing the surgery because it is in the best interest of your child? or are you doing it so YOU don't lose a child? Is the child really better off after the surgery? Are they going to live life, or just be surviving? The kids look so vulnerable after the surgery that the parents can't stand to be around them, but how are they going to thrive and get better if they don't have love around them?
Just some interesting things to think of... I've been doing it a lot this week with our two Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome babies. that's my week in a nutshell... off to bed!