There was a knock at the door around 8pm, just as I was ruining my first egg on what I thought was a non-stick griddle (it was not non-stick). Since arriving 24 hours ago, we've had a number of visitors stopping by to say hello, so I expected it was someone else with this intent. "Do you want to assist in a C-section?" was what I was actually greeted with. When you ask me that question, the answer is always yes. Good thing I knew exactly which bag my scrubs were in and was able to quickly find them.
We headed down the hill in the dark and when we reached the hospital I asked around to find out where the appropriate OR attire could be found. Standing on the assist side of the table was a new experience; I had to cut sutures with my left hand, make sure there was enough tension when following the surgeon suturing, etc. Everything was over very quickly as there were no complications and I had to review the steps afterwards in my head. The muscle memory of residency has already begun fading. I'm told it comes back quickly. It is comforting how similar operating fields are, even with slightly different equipment or medications. Human anatomy remains the same and it was fun refreshing my skills.
We headed down the hill in the dark and when we reached the hospital I asked around to find out where the appropriate OR attire could be found. Standing on the assist side of the table was a new experience; I had to cut sutures with my left hand, make sure there was enough tension when following the surgeon suturing, etc. Everything was over very quickly as there were no complications and I had to review the steps afterwards in my head. The muscle memory of residency has already begun fading. I'm told it comes back quickly. It is comforting how similar operating fields are, even with slightly different equipment or medications. Human anatomy remains the same and it was fun refreshing my skills.
