2 weeks of GYN surgeries

After a great week of night float on my Ob-Gyn rotation, I was due to spend 2 weeks in the OR helping with gynecological surgeries. I was very excited about this. One of the big decisions you make in medicine is whether you want to go into a "medical" field or a "surgical" field. I have yet to make that decision, mostly because I haven't had enough exposure clinically. The 2 weeks of Gyn would be a sneak peak into surgery.

Despite passing out in the OR during my first C-section, I wasn't too nervous about being in the OR. I had already been in on a few more C-sections and was getting used to that atmosphere. Scrubbing into the OR was becoming more of a habit. This includes scrubbing our hands and arms for 5 minutes to make sure that we are completely clean and maintain sterility in the Operating Room. The harder part is gowning up and gloving up while remaining completely sterile. Thankfully, most of the nurses were very helpful with this, and by the end of the two weeks, I felt more competent with the art of scrubbing. This is not me below but we looked something like this while getting ready for the surgeries:


Most of the surgeries lasted anywhere between 30mins - 2 hours and were really enjoyable! I got an opportunity to scrub in with residents who were accompanied by teaching faculty members as well as private attendings (highest on the totem pole in medicine). I was pleasantly surprised by how much almost each and every one of the surgeons was interested in teaching. They took the time to show me anatomic structures. They took the time to ask me questions about the anatomy. The really good ones took the time to get to know me better and give advice on how to go about the 3rd year of medical school, and how to balance personal lives with careers. I was also very lucky to work with excellent residents who had a wonderful attitude towards their patients and showed great skill.

One of the final year residents especially sticks out in my mind. Her laparoscopic technique was simply brilliant. I would say that her skills were so developed that they would probably rival most attendings' skills. Not only that, but she knew how to make laparoscopic procedures interesting for me as a medical student. We don't get to do the actual procedure so it can sometimes be hard to stay focused looking at a video screen for 2 hours. However, this particular resident described each step as she did it, engaged me throughout the entire time and really made the time fly by. I am very thankful for seeing her teach and hope to emulate some of her techniques once I am on the other side. (of course, that is if I end up going into a surgical field)

As the two weeks went by, I got to see a large variety of cases (listed in the next post). I would be very excited to wake up every morning to be in the OR. I had a lot of fun talking to my patients before the procedures. Although they were nervous and scared, they had this faith. Faith in their surgeons that whatever problem they had would be fixed after the procedure. Faith in their anesthesiologists (whom they only met for a few minutes), that once they went under, the anesthesiologist would take care of their breathing and their basic physiology.

I did not expect this. I absolutely LOVED being in the OR for the 2 weeks. Whether it was the adrenaline of being there and seeing awesome procedures done for the first time, or whether it is a sign that a surgical field is calling my name - only time will tell.

Ob-Gyn Week 1 - Clinic Week and Physical Exams

We spend one week in the clinic at our hospital during the Ob-Gyn rotation. I was glad I had this week first. It would allow me to ease into my first clinical rotation. During our first 2 years of medical school, we learned how to obtain a full history and perform a full physical exam on our patients in our doctoring course. If anyone disliked this course during the first 2 years, I am sure that they quickly gained a whole lot of appreciation for the doctoring course.

I worked with an intern during my first morning in clinic. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Interns are closest to being a medical student, and mine remembered her first day "on the wards" very well! This meant that she did a great job of easing me into this rotation. We went over some of the specific questions to ask when obtaining histories from a pregnant lady. This was good as we had not previously learned this.

We had also learned how to do breast and pelvic exams in doctoring. I am really glad we got a refresher during our first evening as it made me a little bit more comfortable doing them. We are trained using standardized patients. These are people who get paid to act as patients, and we get to practice performing exams on them. A (fantastic) nurse practitioner guided us through the steps and the standardized patient was an excellent teacher too. By coincidence, my standardized patient was the same one I had trained with about 6 months ago, and we both recognized each other and gave each other a courteous shake of the head to acknowledge that we both remembered each other. I didn't expect to have the same patient - at all.

During the clinic week, I got to perform a lot of physical exams, and each and every single time, I was extremely careful to be very professional while doing the exams. This both helped calm my nerves and calm the patient as well. Most patients were ok with having me as the medical student perform the exam under the guidance of the nurse practitioner. A few were uncomfortable and I happily agreed to their request of letting the nurse practitioner perform the exam. As a male medical student, I can see why some females would be uncomfortable in letting me perform a pelvic exam. I am very grateful to those patients that let me perform the exams. They have been a part of some of my most nervous moments in my medical education.

3rd year clinical rotations start!

It is a weird feeling. Once you decide you want to go into medicine, you picture yourself in a hospital saving lives. You picture yourself helping someone and trying to heal sick patients.

But, before you get there, you have to get through Undergrad, get through the first 2 years of medical school learning all the basic science information, get through the Boards (Step 1) and finally some day, you will actually start going to the hospitals. (I will write about my step 1 experience in a future post)

Well, that day is here.

Tomorrow is the first day of my clinical years of medical school. 3rd year is finally here. This is where all the learning is done in the hospitals. Everyone says that the clinical years are better than the first 2 years. There is no doubt that I am extremely excited about this new beginning. Yet, there is no doubt that nervousness has also surrounded me.

People will expect me to know stuff. Patients will see me in my white coat and think that I will be able to help them. (Little to they know about how little I know at this point). What if I make a mistake? What if I don't know what to do?

The good news is that we are at the bottom of the medical hierarchy and so it is ok to not know stuff. (of course, as long as we find out about it).

I start with Ob-Gyn, and after surgery, this 6-week rotation is the 2nd most time-intensive. Ahh, sleep will be extremely valuable!

I am thrilled to be starting tomorrow. 3rd year will be a fantastic opportunity to learn a lot of different medical skills. I am excited. I am honored to have this opportunity.

And with that...

Here's to hoping for an enjoyable clinical career!