And it wasn’t that bad. I got to choose Ortho-1 as my pick for the first ward, since others weren’t left at my turn.
But the ward is much better than expected. While the living conditions aren’t ideal, the postgraduates and faculty are really welcoming and nice, and I’ve got my friends with me!! I think that will probably impact my overall level of comfort much more than proper air-conditioning, but we’ll find out.
The highlight of my first few days of housejob was the OT experience on Saturday. Got to experience OT with a really capable resident, Dr. Waqar. There were two surgeries, the first being a total knee replacement, followed by an open reduction and internal fixation of a galeazzi fracture.
While, I learned how to order labs, in a very prolonged and not-normal duration, I eventually did learn it. And ran a few basic errands, and wasn’t able to observe the surgery except the final parts.
The second surgery was a different deal though. I was able to scrub in, held retractor, as well as the hand/arm in place at different instances, because it moves when you’re drilling.
Towards the end, when we were screwing nails in the bone plate, I helped screw a nail in the volar plate, which seemed like the first “big-boy” stuff I did. Everyone was so kind, from the anesthesia team to the orthopedics consultants.
The resident also helped me revise some suturing basics, as well as why we do what we do. Let’s see what the next week has to bring!!
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