Beyond the classroom
2 rotations complete! I just finished my clerkships in OB/GYN and general surgery. If I thought the first year and a half of med school was busy, I knew nothing. 12-hour work days are now the norm.
If you asked me to decide on a specialty about halfway through my OB rotation I would have to said that was it. I am prone to changing my mind, but I loved my first rotation. Witnessing a birth for the first time was an unforgettable experience. I wasn't doing anything but standing there watching and trying my hardest not to cry. Watching a new life come into being was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. Certainly we all know what happens and how, but seeing it is beautiful.
My first night on call I scrubbed in on 3 C-sections. Each one I was able to participate a little more, retracting, doing some sutures and delivering the placenta! Each cesarean still gave me that warm fuzzy feeling when a brand new baby saw the world for the first time. I found it surprising how fast the beginning went, followed by how long the closing took. Makes sense though - cutting is faster than sewing!
I also spent time in the reproductive endocrinology (fertility) clinic which was also very interesting. I got to observe an egg retrieval as well as an embryo transfer! The embryologist showed me both under the microscope which was really cool to see. What we can do with science and technology amazes me.
The GYN parts of the OB/GYN rotation didn't quite pique my interest as much as the creation and delivery of babies, but I guess all that goes together.
General surgery was a lot of fun too. The days were a little bit longer than OB/GYN, but I saw a lot more procedures. I started on the Blue Team which was "Boobs & Butts" or perhaps more appropriately, breast & anorectal surgery. I was able to scrub in on some lumpectomies & mastectomies for breast cancer, as well as some anal procedures & surgeries for colon cancer.
After 3 weeks on the blue team I had 1 week on the Gold team who specialize in Bariatrics and minimally invasive surgeries. On that team I scrubbed in on some weight loss procedures, but my favorite one from that team was a parathyroid surgery. The patient had a tumor of his parathyroid gland which causes the blood's calcium levels to be higher than usual. In his case this caused the calcium to precipitate as stones in his kidneys. Immediately after the surgery to remove the tumor his parathyroid hormone levels were dropping back to normal and his kidney function was improving. This really exemplified what I like about surgery - see a problem, fix it, see instant results. Of course, it doesn't always work out so perfectly, but that certainly was a cool example.
My last week on surgery was on the Red team who does acute care. So they have no schedule at all and take care of whatever emergent patients come up - consults from the ER, etc. That week was a little bit hectic and even longer hours, but fun too! On that service I saw a gall bladder removal (the most common surgery in the US), a partial pancreatectomy and a bowel resection (I got to fire the GI stapler!). The pancreas surgery was an interesting one as the pancreas is rarely operated on. There is a motto in surgery "eat when you can, sleep when you can, and don't f*** with the pancreas." The surgery on this temperamental organ lasted almost 8 hours!
On the weekends we have shifts at a civilian trauma center. One of my shifts zero traumas came in, so I got a lot of reading done that day. Other shifts have been more interesting. One night I got to sew up 3 people's heads in a row! Before starting these shifts I was nervous about seeing trauma patients come in, but when they actually come and I get to participate it's a lot of fun, and not as hectic as I previously imagined.
So 2 rotations complete and probably no closer to deciding on what specialty is my favorite. I still get asked daily "what I want to do when I grow up," and I can't stop changing my mind. I suppose loving everything is better than hating everything, and I just have to decide what I like the most!