Pretty much what I looked like today. This morning I was really comfortable in my bed. It was warm, I had three blankets, and when I began to peel them away decided my room was much too cold to justify moving from my cocoon. The only problem was I had my internship. I had to get up. (Also Valencia "cold" is nothing, I could take it.) My lack of motivation made me arrive to the hospital at 9am...later than normal. Yet, as I expected it didn't matter that I got there at 9am. There was nothing to do. I changed into scrubs, and then went and sat and waited...and waited...and waited. The past couple weeks I had lost motivation to go to my internship. I observe surgeries and....that's it. Yes, it is amazing and I know I'm lucky. BUT when you just stand out of the way and can't see anything, it gets kind of repetitive. Also, I had fainted a while back in surgery, so I now constantly am preoccupied it will happen again--luckily it hasn't. Anyway, back to today. Finally, after about an hour, they were prepping for surgery. I donned my scrub hat, and shoe covers and then waited. Nothing. I was thirsty, and decided to ward off any possibility of fainting, I should go buy water. When I got back from the vending machine the med-student I had been waiting with was gone, so I decided to loiter outside the operating rooms and see which surgery looked more interesting. I decided on the second one because there was music, and honestly I didn't know what the procedures were just from the prep. As I'm standing there, trying to be as much of a wallflower as possible and not get in anyone's way, the doctor comes up to me. "¿Quieres lavar?" I was shocked. He was asking me if I wanted to scrub in. Of course I wanted to, I just hadn't been forward enough to ask anyone. After some babbling through surgical masks and across language barriers it was understood that I had never scrubbed in, but would like to learn how. And I did. I learned the proper way to wash your hands and arms, put on the sterile gown, and of course struggled with the gloves. Guess what? I even got a job. I got to dry the blood, so that the surgeon could properly see what he was doing. Mind you it wasn't a big job, there was suction and he was also drying the blood, so mostly I just stood there. But still. I was right there, participating in my small way in a real live surgery. Participating in this internship has solidified the fact that I don't want to be a surgeon (although today I did have a few moments where I thought maybe I shouldn't throw that idea out the window just yet...those thoughts didn't last long though). There is nothing wrong with it, but surgery just isn't for me. I would love to do it, but only for a year or so, and then I would want to switch--so surgery isn't a viable option considering how long I would be in school. It's not really a career you can commit to for only one year. However, this internship has made me a little more confident in the fact that I want to do medicine in some way. I think. There is still time to figure that out. For now, though, I just have to say that was awesome. It is amazing that I was able to scrub in and participate. I don't think I ever would have had that opportunity in the US without being a med-student, and I am extremely grateful for this opportunity. Oh, and one last note. Did I mention there was music? Ok, but did I mention that this was the last song that was playing before I left for class? (Class which I ended up being late for, oops! It was worth it though.) Photos:
http://www.brooksidepress.org/Products/Scrub_Gown_and_Glove_Procedures/images/scrub250.jpg http://www.expressmedicalsupplies.com/images/products/i11379.jpg
1 Comment
Liz
11/28/2012 03:48:59 am
SO cool!!
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Claire AngelineI am traveling the world from October 2017-October 2018, and the plan is to visit all seven continents. I'm a vegetarian foodie, a baker, a dance enthusiast, a nonprofit co-founder, and a huge travel addict. When I'm not traveling I'm putting my MPH to good use and doing public health research. Archives
September 2016
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