I've finished my Internal Medicine rotation and now I'm on my Surgery rotation at the Boise, VA That's right, I'm living in Idaho again, while Diana remains in Seattle, bringing home the bacon, keeping the building from burning down, and dealing with the kooky owner.
I live in the house my parents just bought but haven't moved into yet, about a 10 minute walk from the VA. I seem to have reverted to my JVC lifestyle: no tv, no internet, no car. I walk or run most places I need to go. The other day I lost my cell phone and I felt like I was in the middle of a vast wilderness in the middle of downtown Boise, with no way to call anyone, no way to get anywhere useful (try to find a payphone these days), and with only my ipod to tell me what time it was. Oh yeah, the ipod . . . I guess I'm not such a monk after all. Did I mention that I haven't had to cook dinner since I've been here?
As for the surgery aspect of life, so far it's been good, but it's mostly an attempt not to screw up. The key is not to touch or bump into anything non-sterile, not to get in anyone's way, not to ask dumb questions, not to not know the answers to the questions that you are asked. I'm beginning to think that the greatest joy in the life of a surgical nurse is watching medical students make stupid mistakes in the OR, and then making wisecracks for the rest of the day.
Thus far, I've seen several hernia operations and a prostatectomy (prostate removal). Tomorrow I'll see a below the knee amputation. So far my role is limited to answering questions, holding/maneuvering the laparoscopic camera (the camera they put inside the body for some operations), and basic suturing. Because there are no residents (which would NOT be the case if I were in Seattle), it's often just me, the surgeon, and the scrub nurse who are scrubbed in and participating in the surgery itself.
I always say I'll post again soon, but I make no promises this time, despite my resolution. Stay tuned.
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