What a week!

Well, this rotation makes the longest days at my last rotation look like a joke! Every day this week has been at least 10 hours in the hospital, typically 11 and sometimes 12. It's nonstop - there's always something to do, even over the "lunch break." But ... I love it! The surgeries are so interesting and always different, and my preceptor and the other surgeons that work with her are really nice. I think she was just really stressed on Monday because it was her big operating day, plus she had to deal with some paperwork issues for me (on the hospital's end, nothing that was my fault!). She and her surgery partner have been really patient with me and have taught me a lot about suturing, knot-tying, and taking good patient histories.

One thing I really like about being in the hospital every day is that you get to see your same patients a couple times each day, and monitor their progress. For example: I got to check up on two of the colon resection patients from Monday each day this week. One of them recovered really well and was discharged yesterday, and the other is having a little more trouble and is still in the hospital. That patient is doing fine, but they just didn't bounce back as quickly as the other. It's nice to keep track of them and watch them recover, especially after seeing them before the surgery and being there during the surgery.

I've also been sent to see patients by myself a bunch of times this week, and I really like that. One person came into the ER with acute abdominal pain, and I got to take their history and do a physical so I could report to my preceptor in case the patient needed surgery. A resident from the ER had already seen them and taken their history, but I didn't read their note before I went down there, but I ended up asking the right questions and looking for the right things on physical exam and I correctly diagnosed them!! It's pretty exciting when textbooks and practice on classmates pays off. :)

Anyway, I am exhausted and am really looking forward to this weekend so I can relax and spend some time with my boyfriend!