It was SO cool! I'd seen a shoulder replacement and found that really, really boring, but this - exciting!
This woman had a fibroid the size of a softball removed. And all of my illusions about surgery being a delicate thing had already been destroyed in the shoulder OR as I watched him try to disarticulate the shoulder from the arm. All I could think of was trying to wrest the thigh off the chicken leg.
The surgeon was in there like I dissect a frog! Using her fingers, smooshing around and under membranes, cauterizing and snipping.
I got to see the uterus and the ovaries, and watched her stich the patient up using the blanker stitch I learned in third grade.
My classmate was told (very nicely) to leave because she was getting really pale and asking if it was hot. I hadn't noticed, and apologized to her for hogging the good viewing spot. She told me to go right ahead.
The staff were really pleasant and explained things before I even asked.
My question: the person assisting, who I thought was the scrub nurse, isn't a nurse at all. She's called a "surgical technician." Is this usual? Because that's the job I'd want in there, not the circulating part watching the cautery equipment and fetching things.
And another, less surgery-specific question: I'm going to take the NCLEX-PN in June. I feel like a nurse imposter. Am I supposed to feel more confident at this point? Because while I know I can do basic patient care, and that I'll pass the test, I feel like a CNA with a license pending. Is this usual, or am I a fraud?
