Day in the Life: Surgery

Surgery is unlike any other beast, in my admittedly limited medical school experience. You get to participate in front-line patient care on the hospital floor, just like the internal medicine doctors. But you also get to take what I call "breaks" - which are actually hours in the OR (operating room) helping a patient fix a very specific problem or issue. It is all fascinating, quite frankly! Here is a glimpse of a typical Tuesday or Thursday, which have morning lectures:

520am: My alarm clock starts singing the latest permutation of "I want to have sex with you in 18 different positions" hip-hop song on the radio. I have taken my friend NK's idea of putting my alarm just out of arm reach, so it forces me to get up at this unGodly hour!

530am: Actually get up to pee then return to bed. Yes, I know this is probably TMI for some of you, but if not for having to use the potty, I wouldn't move. I'd stay in bed for another 10 minutes. As it is, I return to bed for those precious minutes!

540-555am: Realize if I don't get up really quick, the ticker will add another tardy to my stone. Get up, shower, put some scrubs on, brush the teeth, comb the hair, grab the cell phone and start walking toward the door...turn back and grab the wallet and start walking toward the door...turn back and grab the house key and start walking toward the door...turn back and grab the car key and start walking toward the door...glance back to make sure I haven't forgotten anything else...exit and walk to car.

6-607am: Arrive to hospital, floor 4B for our AM rounds. Grab the "Lab Book" as it is my duty to rattle off the previous day's labs for each patient when prompted for them by the resident. I sure hope there is a question on the USMLE Step 2 exam about what button to click to make the computer give you the labs...because I will ACE that part of the exam! (And no, there are no questions about how to retrieve labs...please pick-up on the sarcasm here.)

7-8am: Lecture #1

8-10am: Lecture #2

10-11am: Lecture #3

7-11am on Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Go to the OR and find a surgery to scrub in and absolutely be amazed at what a human being's insides look like! It is really quite incredible to put your hand on the intestines or see the heart beating or see the lung inflating, or even to just stitch someone back together!

11am-12pm: Copy labs from computer to lab book.

12-1pm: Lunch

1-2pm: Study a bit in the library because I have a big exam coming up in about 3 months.

2-3pm: Afternoon lecture

3-?? pm: Go to another surgery, help on the floor

4-8pm: Usually somewhere in this window, head home.

Realize that this whole schedule gets turned on its head when a trauma arrives to the hospital. My location is a Level 1 Trauma, but we are in Staten Island so we're not seeing a steady influx of GSW (Gun Shot Wound) patients. Instead, we see a lot of falls or motor vehicle accidents, or once, the stab wound patient (see previous case files on the subject). As a med student, we usually are taking the History and conducting the physical exam on the patient as the surgeons/doctors are conducting the close inspection and giving the orders for what tests to do and when to do the next step in our assessment of the patient. It is always more interesting to see a surgery on a patient that you have followed from their initial arrival to the hospital, as opposed to seeing a random surgery where all you see is the small surgical window...sometimes, not even the face of the patient!

The goal after going home, of course, is to study. This is done with mixed results on most days. Sometimes I am able to accomplish my study goals for the afternoon. Most days, however, I'm just exhausted and get home in time to crash on my bed and go to sleep. The sounds of "Lets have sex in a restaurant" hip-hop song will ring in my ears before I know it.