Went to the OR today!

[memphispanda, RN]

I was very much not excited about today...I love clinicals on my med-surg floor and surgery...I can't even watch it on tv. I had heard about how it can *smell* in there and certain things about cutting through layers of tissue really disturb me. So I showed up to meet with my educator for the day and after some figuring and fiddling, I was going to watch an exploratory lap.

The pt had to be intubated before I could go in and observe, so when I got in the room she told me to go in, I thought it didn't really look like I thought it would look...I didn't see any screens or anything that looked like a lap (or my mental pic of one). So I am standing out of the way, the anesthesiologist inserts a central line and asks me if I would like to do the NG tube, which I do, still wondering what is going on. So I go back to watching and I see the scalpel come out, I think "ok, this is for the cute little incisions they make"...

Yeah. Right. They cut the woman open from hither to yon and she had so much ascites that fluid was just pouring out--6000cc of fluid. I realized she had put me in the wrong room, but I stayed anyway. It turned out to be nothing like I had imagined. I watched them take this lady's intestines out, resection the colon in 3 places, remove 4 tumors that had to be at least 1lb each...

And I didn't get sick!!!

[Rena RN 2003, RN]

YAY!!!!

i remember my first or experience. i forgot to breathe! :chuckle got very dizzy because i realized i was anticipating the first cut and was holding my breath. :chuckle

so, do you like it any better now that you've actually been there?

[memphispanda, RN]

Originally posted by Rena RN 2003

so, do you like it any better now that you've actually been there?

Oh yes--a thousand times better! LOL I was just terrified that I would get sick/pass out/in general embarass myself. Instead, I was fascinated by the whole thing!

[Rena RN 2003, RN]

oh me too! i love the OR. as a matter of fact i'm there the next 2 days so i'm in heaven.

i worried about embarrassing myself too. i'm glad things worked out well for you. :)

[kimmicoobug]

Sounds cool! My OR experience was not quite as exciting. I watched a hysteroscopy and scraping of polyps (I think it was a D&C). The doctor is one of the best that I have been around and he has the reputation to prove it. He let me peek into the scope and then he told me to go glove up (eek!) He then told me to go ahead and feel the cervix (had no idea they were conical). I am wondering if that is really very ethical? But that was still neat.

[Mkue]

memphis, glad you had a great experience !! sounds really interesting !:)

[colleen10]

Memphis!!!!

That's awesome!!!! I can't believe they put you in the wrong room though!!!

Takce Care and Congrats!!!!