"BAM I got your Appendix!" Day 4---sucked the life right out of me

The sleep I got last night just didn't seem like enough. I woke up feeling really good....must have not woken up in my REM sleep. Score. But I felt the lack of sleep later on in the day.

The intern on my ward wasn't there today. Unannounced. This left me to do all the tasks that doctors like to give the interns/students. Greeeeaaaat.

During the morning rounds, I had to take the (as Dr.I calls it) Jimmy Book. It's a big hardbound notebook that is used for notes during rounds as to what needs to be done with the patients. Then the list can be completed during the day. I wasn't completely positive what all I had to write down because no one told me. I opted for writing down more than less just to be safe.

Then I was supposed to lay an i.v. It's the same thing over and over again. If I haven't laid one in a while, I really dislike having to do it. However, I think I recently got the hang of it down so that my success rate is much higher. I'm not the only one who feels hesitant about laying i.v.s after not having done it for a while, a few of (if not all) my friends feel the same. It's just so upsetting when the needle doesn't find it's way and you have to repoke the patient. Luckily, my i.v. yesterday and today went just fine. Boo-yah!

I hurried to the morning meeting and got myself signed up for the first operation in OR 09. It was a hemi thyroid removal with the chief. I immediately went down and got dressed for the operation.

This was my first thyroid operation since the other one (thankfully) didn't happen the other day. It is always a new learning experience with new operations in completely different body areas. Each operation has a certain flow to it and I try to interrupt this flow as little as possible with my lack of experience.

The chief started asking where I was from. I told him Wisconsin (you Rah-Rah).

Hardly home but always reppin!

The following conversation was entertaining.

"Do you live on a farm?"

"Yes." (well sort of, nothing compared to the actual working and money making farms out there.

"Do you have a porch?"

"Yes."

"Do you sit out there in the evening with a cold Budweiser?"

"Not necessarily a Budweiser but yes we do."

"Samuel Adams?"

"More likely, or spotted cow."

"What kind of dog do you have?" (notice the question wasn't IF I had one, he just assumed we did.)

"Golden retriever."

"I think you will have to take me to Wisconsin so I can sit on the porch. See, Dr.S, you can come too and then drink a beer on her porch with the golden retriever laying by your feet with view on the.....is it flat land there?"

"We have hills behind the house."

"....with a view on the hills. Wouldn't that be great Dr.T?" (Dr.T was rather speechless haha)

"Well, you are more than welcome to stop by Wisconsin."

"So your name doesn't happen to be (I forgot what he said but I think it was meant to sound American)?"

"No, its not."

"Well what is it?"

"Hasselhof."

"No way! Related?"

"Distantly."

"That is fantastic! You know, that was my generation. What a great guy. Cool."

He really seemed happy about that fact. At the end of the operation he thanked me for my help and said it was a pleasure. ... Thanks chief, for me too. Lol.

After the operation, I grabbed a black tea (first caffeine of the day) and headed back up. There was a bunch of blood to be drawn again. My doctors seemed to have disappeared and I knew for a fact that they were not planned to be in the OR today. I finished up my doctor's letter so that I have that done for tomorrow.

I got the male nurse to open up the learning studio for me and I spent two hours practicing suturing and knots. I was tempted to do some more molding with the clay but figured if someone walked in on me doing that, they might think I was wasting time where as suturing seemed productive.

Left: subcuticular suture Right: single knot, Allgöwer and Donati knots

practice makes perfect

Back on the ward, there was still no sight of a doctor. I looked at a few files and just waited for it to be late enough for the afternoon meeting. I headed there early and sat way in the back as the tumor board (a panel of doctors that discuss a patient to construct the best treatment plan with doctors of different specialties) was still going on. I couldn't understand a thing they were saying because A) they all spoke to the front of the room so the sound waves where not coming in my direction and B) they were all so quiet. I proceeded to see what Facebook was up to. Dr.F (the attending from the operation yesterday, the funny one that asked how tall my non existing boyfriend is) came in and sat next to me in the last row and joked that I should be learning something. I told him I totally knew what was going on and besides I couldn't understand a thing due to the points mentioned above. He told me I should go sit in the first row since that was the row for me. Mmmhmm, sure, right next to the chief, right? Silly Dr.F.

The afternoon meeting was short and sweet and I was out of there. I stopped by the transfusion department and donated blood.

I already felt weak from the lack of sleep and not eating much during the day so I figured getting half a liter blood drawn wouldn't make much more of a difference. The donation went great (not that you think I might have fainted). After that, I headed home and took a nap....that ended up being two hours. I woke up 10 minutes to 7 and almost had a heart attack because I thought it was the next morning and I was for sure going to be late for my last day. Luckily, my brain started functioning again and I was happy it was still the same day. I felt like death though. I'm glad I don't have plans for tonight...I will probably go to bed again any second here and hope to catch up on sleep.

Baci, V