A Trip to the Operation Room

This is what I wore to the OR.

I woke up in excitement today because I was looking forward to go to the OR. I dressed in my scrub and headed to breakfast. After breakfast, I dropped my bag off in the classroom and headed to the OR. Before entering, I was required to put on a hair net as well as a mask to cover our our mouth. I also had to sanitize my hands everytime I stepped out of a room. I can remember cleaning my hands at least five different times.

The anesthesiologist I followed was Dr. Blaire. He was a very nice doctor who explained all of the surgical procedures that were going on. We visited a couple of different patients. The first patient was undergoing an eyelid surgery. I was able to see Dr. Blaire put the patient to sleep. I also learned something very interesting about the patient: he had undiagnosed COPD because his heart rate was not normal. I was surprised that he had not been diagnosed yet.

The next patient I saw was undergoing a spinal cord surgery. The patient was lying on her stomach. I entered in the middle of the surgery. I was a bit afraid because I had never seen a surgery before, and I was not sure about how I would react upon seeing blood. Surprisingly and fortunately, I did not feel lightheaded. I had the opportunity to watch the surgery up close. There was also a large screen where the surgery could be seen in detail.  A part of the patient's back had been cut open because she had a tumor around her spine. The tumor was firmly attached, and it was taking a while for the neurosurgeons to pry it apart. However, the neurosurgeons were very calm throughout the surgery.The surgery team also consisted of other healthcare professionals who handed the surgeon supplies or monitored the patient's vital signs.

I saw two other patients. One of them had blood clots in her legs, so the surgeons were going to insert tubes that would prevent the clots from going up further. The other patient was going to have a brain surgery. There was fluid leaking from her brain through the ears and mouth. I was really looking forward to seeing the brain surgery; however, it was time for me to leave.

During the latter half of class, I listened to a few lectures and worked on the PSA project. After class, I had my Arete class. I slightly improved my juggling skills. I tried to juggle with three balls today, but it was not all that successful. However, it is one step forward!