Pallet for Home

So I had quite the interesting first week in the OR!  I'm doing my surgery rotation with an orthopedic group.  It really is similar to wood-working.  There are drills and screws, and dremel type tools.

Ok, so obviously this is an exaggeration.  The surgeons don't stand around with their masks half on holding huge power tools, but it's pretty awesome!

On Monday I met my preceptor at 6:45am and got changed.  Our first case was a totol knee replacement.  Pretty crazy stuff!

Once that case was finished we moved over to the outpatient surgery center.  At this point I had only eaten a poptart and it was getting close to 10:00am.  We headed to our next case which was a rotator cuff repair.  This is an arthroscopic procedure, and I got the job of holding the arm in the correct position.  Essentially I was doing two bicep curls for almost an hour.  And I'm a wimp.  I have absolutely no upper body strength, I swear this person's arm weighed 20 pounds, and I was starving.

I was sweating bullets and could feel myself getting weaker and weaker.  I sat there hoping the procedure would be over soon.

I managed to wait until the surgeon had left the OR and my preceptor, a PA, was getting ready to close the incision.  I couldn't hold out any longer, and I told her I felt really weak.

One of the RNs came to my rescue and helped me walk over to a stool in the corner of the room.  I wasn't feeling any better, so they had me lay down on the cool floor.  All I could think about was getting some food in my stomach, and I kind of felt like this:

Once a little bit of my color returned they helped me into the hallway and went to get me a coke.  While I was waiting for the coke I proceeded to have a massive hand cramp.  Looking back now I can't stop laughing at how ridiculous this whole scenario is.

They finally returned with a coke which I chugged, and almost immediately felt better once I got some sugar in my system.

We only had one more surgery for the day, so I grabbed a big lunch and did fine.

Moral of the story, you gotta eat your breakfast and keep hydrated!

Wednesday went much more smooth and my preceptor made sure I was eating all day.  Thank goodness, because we ended up being in the OR from 7:30am - 10:00pm. 

My feet were a little tired at the end of that day, and I was hopping from foot to foot in the OR, kinda like this gal:

Now that I've learned to eat, I'm enjoying the OR much more!  It's not nearly as terrifying as I thought it would be.  Now my biggest obstacle is learning my anatomy, and my goodness there's a ton of it!

I've already seen a total knee replacement, total hip replacement, a few knee and shoulder arthroscopic procedures, ankle fusion, a few hardware removals, a gamma rod placed in a fractured hip and a fractured elbow repair.  These folks are busy!

Thanks to everyone for your words of support and encouragement!

Now, what you've all been waiting for!

The winner of my blogiversary giveaway!

Congratulations to Pinwheels & Peonies!

I'll be e-mailing you shortly!

I hope you all have enjoyed your weekend, and have a great week!

Cheers!