the excitment of Surgeries....

Yesterday was another Charlie day.... We got to the operating room (Theater, as they call it here) around 8.30 and did not finish surgeries until close to Midnight. Which was still amazing, because considering that he did 3 tumor surgeries und two small cases and got done by midnight is just incredible. I thought the first surgy would take at least 6-7hours and he was done after 4!!!!! It is just incredible. He is quick, efficient and knows exactly what he is doing. It is amazing to watch him and it is even better to be able to assist him.... At 10pm he finally asked me if I wanted to scrub in - what a question! He could have asked me at midnight and I still would have said yes! During the day I got a little upset, because I am not blond and not skinny... and those girls seems to get more attention and chances quicker.... But at some point it was my turn, and I loved it!
After the last surgery was over he invited everbody out to dinner, but I wasn't hungry and wanted to be able to assist with surgeries today and therefore decided to not go at 1am.... it was probably the more reasonable thing to do, but going out would maybe have made things a little bit easier, since those social events always help getting to know people better and have more in common. Maybe next time, even though I don't think that there will be a single day when his surgeries will be over before midnight!
Today I had to jump a few more hops before I was allowed to scrub in, and I believe I may have made the nurses a little bit mad at me, but I just didn't want to accept being told by the scrub nurse to not scrub after I had done all the required things and the surgeons wanted me to assist. Today it was just too much and I did not want to quietly accept it. So fortunately my registrar backed me up and we worked it out together. But it was once again ridicolous!!!!! Apperantly my supervisor had sent out an Email that no student was allowed to scrub on neurosurgical cases (by the way this is a teaching hospital!!!) That message was passed on to the scrub nurses and appearently the note about us being allowed to scrub after we have had the training wasn't.... So we called my supervisor and even though he said over the phone that I am allowed to scrub (since I am on his service and had the session) the scrub nurse still insisted on not letting me do it. Which just really upset me (but I kept that to myself, since getting made wouldn't have made her change her mind and I just let my registrar handle all the frustration....)It is just insane if someone who has made a rule can't make changes to that rule! Anyway we had to go to the next important nurse and she too was not impressed by the phone call and the message from my supervisor who specifically said that I could assist and get scrubbed, because he had sent out an Email a few weeks ago.... We finally found another person, who was able to clearify (not a doctor, not even a nurse!!!!) the whole situation and said since my supervisor said it was ok and since I had had the sessio I was allowed to scrub. And then all of a sudden everybody else wouldn't opose anymore, but I think it is just so frustrating since this is a teaching hospital and the nurses and the Theater stuff (not even the doctors) make it so hard for us to learn.... I don't even want to do much, I just want to scrub in, because I can see better and I don't have to worry about contaminating anything when trying to see better! Once we took care of all that I had two awesome surgical experiences. One of the patients I had seen on Monday in preadmission clinic. I was allowed to assist a little bit and help with the closure. I still haven't quite figured out how to not hurt the needle.... My needles always look like someone tried to kill them once I am done with sutures. The skin on the head is really thick, but the experiences surgeons don't bend their needles... So I still need to work on how to apply the right amount of pressure and how to move it through the tissue smoothely..... But it is still great and I feel more comfortable with the instruments every single time. Even tying a knot doesn't seem awkward anymore - not even with my left hand, because before I came here I had always practiced and done it with my right hand and now I had to learn how to do it with my left hand, which makes holding on to the instruments a lot easier, but was really hard at first. With the second case of the day I even got to assist more, because it was just me and the surgeon! Really, really cool! But I really got to experience the difference between the public and the private hospital today.... The nurses and anesthesia in the private hospital are so much quicker! Yesterday the turnover time was so much quicker and when the surgeon asked for something he/she didn't have to wait several minutes to get it. They were all interested in getting things done quickly, whereas today some things were done soooooooooooo slowly.... For Example with the first case: the patient was taken to the operating room around 8 and we did not start the case until close to 10!!!!!!
But anyway. I had a great time with the surgeries today and I might get some more experience next week on Thursday, when todays surgeon will operate again (she is a female neurosurgeon and so nice!!!!!)