A Morning in Surgery

I was up at 4.30 AM this morning. It wasn't that I couldn't sleep, nor was it due to the cat roaming the house looking for company (his usual habit generally a few hours later, thankfully). This morning I had to be in surgery at 6.45 AM, but not as a patient. Our community preceptorship program arranges clinical experiences for medical students and second year offers us a chance to spend the morning in surgery. Today was my day, which explains why I was up at dark thirty fumbling for the coffee pot.

It was an amazing morning to say the least. A nurse assigned to shepherding medical students gave us a review of scrubbing and gowning procedures, then led us to our prospective operating rooms. Compared to the nurses and doctors, my tasks were simple: don't get in the way (too much), don't contaminate anything (especially myself), and try not to pass out. I managed on all three counts, so I think we can call the morning a success.

The procedure lasted only about three hours and I was allowed to hold a retractor and use the staple gun to close the incision. Little things, I'm sure, and probably every medical student does similarly, but I appreciated the chance to participate and actually do something. The most amazing thing was placing my gloved hand inside a living body to examine the tissue. Unless a person intends to be a surgeon, experiences like this don't come along very often, and it left me feeling a sense of wonder.

One thing is certain, surgery is nothing like it's depicted on ER. The staff take their roles very seriously but there is friendly conversation and humor about daily life. Patients, even when they are unconscious, are treated with respect and dignity.

As students, we're on temporary assignment; here today and someplace else next month. Nevertheless, we're treated as if we're expected back tomorrow, as though we're worth teaching. People listening, answering questions, taking time to make a contribution. People who were, at 6.45 this morning, total strangers, making the effort to make me feel welcome. It was quite the experience.