things going well =)
you know how there is always sunshine after the rain? well, it happened, both literally and figuratively! we've had two days of downpour (i know it doesn't compare to SJ), and now it's 70's and sunny! too bad i was stuck working the entire sunny days from sunrise to sunset, but it's still nice to peek out windows and see blue skies. so during those rainy days we had long work days, i was lacking sleep (4-5h of interrupted sleep), tired and cranky, couldn't find housing, got rejected from an ortho job at santa clara kaiser, stressed from work and not getting to do anything, and some mini-arguments with people. then the sun came out, and everything turned great! i got to assist in more surgical procedures, i found summer housing (same place as last summer, with unlimited AC!), i got NINE hours of sleep one night, patched things up, things were shining so brightly! and today, my team lets me go home at 11am!!! only 5h of work and i'm free!! no more 12h shifts! =) so it's noon, and i'm ecstatic!!! =D
yesterday i had a great attending doctor on the surgical case. it was a hip replacement revision, which mean the patient's original hip replacement failed and she needed another. so i was with 2 residents (3rd year very very buff asian guy, 4th year skinny very smart guy), 1 attending (santa-claus like, but strong). we had to get the old metal hip prosthesis out from her leg, but somehow, it was jammed in her bone so tightly (i guess after 14 years!). so the 3 of them took turns for 45 min trying to hammer this thing out, and i'm sitting there waiting, twiddling my thumbs impatiently...wondering when i'll get out of this case so i can eat and make it on time for badm practice! for the first 10 min, we made about 2mm (not cm) of progress in a 18cm rod!! not good at all. anyhow, they hammered til all 3 were sweating, and the attending goes, "maybe we should give nancy a try!" i was like, "haha, no thanks!" obviously, i'm the weakling here (ortho docs are mostly former jocks), and i'm SURE i'll hammer my fingers before i get that rod out and embarass/hurt myself! so they kept working at it..and finally when it was just about to pop out (to my extreme happiness that the case is finally progressing), the attending doc shouts, "STOP!! nancy, come over here, take it out!" i was shocked! I get to do the honors?? Wowzers! so i hustled over, and remembering how much strength the others had to hit with to get the rod to budge, i took one HUGE bang and i nearly fell off the stool i was on, but the rod was out!! big cheers in the OR! =) i just laughed at the silliness, but the attending's thoughtfulness is something i'll take with me. despite the unpredicted difficulty in extracting her old replacement and the prolongation of the case, he still managed to remember there is a student on board...and despite the hard 45 min of work the others put into it, it was me that he let to yank it out! so i'll remember that in the future if i ever have students under me. =) so that was very cool. and i got to do more suturing--need the practice to become a surgeon! good times! i like ortho, still like surgery, so i think that's what i'll go into first. oh, the 4th year resident even offered me a possible job in AZ for a PA in ortho trauma--that would be cool, but not so fun since i don't know anyone. still, it's nice to have opportunities pop up!
yesterday i had a great attending doctor on the surgical case. it was a hip replacement revision, which mean the patient's original hip replacement failed and she needed another. so i was with 2 residents (3rd year very very buff asian guy, 4th year skinny very smart guy), 1 attending (santa-claus like, but strong). we had to get the old metal hip prosthesis out from her leg, but somehow, it was jammed in her bone so tightly (i guess after 14 years!). so the 3 of them took turns for 45 min trying to hammer this thing out, and i'm sitting there waiting, twiddling my thumbs impatiently...wondering when i'll get out of this case so i can eat and make it on time for badm practice! for the first 10 min, we made about 2mm (not cm) of progress in a 18cm rod!! not good at all. anyhow, they hammered til all 3 were sweating, and the attending goes, "maybe we should give nancy a try!" i was like, "haha, no thanks!" obviously, i'm the weakling here (ortho docs are mostly former jocks), and i'm SURE i'll hammer my fingers before i get that rod out and embarass/hurt myself! so they kept working at it..and finally when it was just about to pop out (to my extreme happiness that the case is finally progressing), the attending doc shouts, "STOP!! nancy, come over here, take it out!" i was shocked! I get to do the honors?? Wowzers! so i hustled over, and remembering how much strength the others had to hit with to get the rod to budge, i took one HUGE bang and i nearly fell off the stool i was on, but the rod was out!! big cheers in the OR! =) i just laughed at the silliness, but the attending's thoughtfulness is something i'll take with me. despite the unpredicted difficulty in extracting her old replacement and the prolongation of the case, he still managed to remember there is a student on board...and despite the hard 45 min of work the others put into it, it was me that he let to yank it out! so i'll remember that in the future if i ever have students under me. =) so that was very cool. and i got to do more suturing--need the practice to become a surgeon! good times! i like ortho, still like surgery, so i think that's what i'll go into first. oh, the 4th year resident even offered me a possible job in AZ for a PA in ortho trauma--that would be cool, but not so fun since i don't know anyone. still, it's nice to have opportunities pop up!
posted by CookieMonster28 at 11:43 AM
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