Ortho days 2 and 3

You probably already heard about Day 2. I probably called you close to tears. You all did an excellent job of consoling me, and I'm grateful.

I spent 4 hours in Ortho clinic being a friggin shadow. I did more as a 2nd year in a clinic than as a 3rd year in that clinic. I tried out taking a patient history and doing a piss-poor physical exam, and was all ready to present it to my attending; then he's already got his hand on the door and I say, "Wait, don't you want to hear about her?" and he says "No, that's ok! I'll get it."

So really, I was a waste of space.

The questions I asked whenever I could catch my resident or attending not making calls, seeing patients, looking over radiographs or dictating seemed sooooo far below these guys' level of knowledge that the answers were pretty short. I was reaching to even think of things to ask that wouldn't sound completely dumb. And at one point when I was basically ditched to stand in the hallway and try to keep it together, I kept thinking "what on earth am I even here for?"

Lunchtime was spent bitching about life to friends in similar situations, then seeing one friend on my way back for another 4 hours of being a shadow and my breaking down to tears. Then it was slightly better, because I decided to just gain whatever I could that day and talk to patients like they were my old friends, since I wasn't really doing anything else. I even answered a phone. Tada!!

Yesterday was MUCH better because we were back in the O.R. I even saw an operation on a guy who I'd seen in the clinic the day before. Totally awesome; well, totally gross. He had a big surgical wound infection that needed reincision, drainage, and irrigation. My poor resident was trying his best not to spray me all over in the face as he irrigated it, but it was kind of hopeless and at least made for a lot of laughing. Except when I thought it kinda got on my bare neck. This stuff was nasty; I really want to know what the results of the culture will be. My resident even taught me vertical mattress suture technique! The time it takes him to throw like 25 stitches I got two done. But it was fun nonetheless. Except when I thought I stuck myself with the needle I was using---thankfully in Ortho the scrub nurses and techs automatically double-glove you, and when the nurse filled the inner glove with water, none came squirting out. Crisis averted, and once again felt stupid.

I also got to see a total knee replacement. Things look so crazy and pretty inside there. Then they're using chisels and hammers and knocking the crap out of it, and shaving it and shaping it all nice with powertools, and getting the right angles down for the prosthesis. So yesterday was much better. However, I am fine with saying bye bye to Ortho. Way over my head. And no testing of my knowledge. And no rounding or prerounding. I gotta learn these things at SOME point! I should've taken call tonight and see what it's like when trauma cases come in, like motor vehicle accidents, but I just don't think I can bring myself to it. I'm going to study instead.

Today we had a 2-hour suture lab with a jerkface from the Plastics team. A Russian guy who kept saying "Comprende?" with his Russian accent; you can imagine how humorous that is. Too bad he was being such a jerkface and talking up how amazing plastic surgeons are. Every time we have suture labs on pig shanks or foam we get better and better. But it's funny to have a suture lab AFTER you've already sutured real people...

Gen and I went on a hunt for compression socks and were not successful; but we did find underpants and bras on sale, plus plates and a salad spinner on a good deal from the Goodwill. Ahhhh shopping---life makes sense again.

Off to study! I've decided to be more proactive for my next 1-weeker, ENT. All the kids who just got off ENT had a good time, so here's to THAT! I can't wait for Medicine or any other rotation that gives me my own patients to follow.