Sick of clinicals? Traveling all over from hospital to hospital in hopes of gleaning knowledge from experienced nurses got you down? Are you tired of all the observing of boring surgeries, pointless procedures, and assessment after assessment?
Well, in three simple steps you too can be dismissed from this hassle forever.
Step one: Be in a room full of people and ignore the fact that each and every one are trained in medicine in some form--especially pay no attention to the gentleman maintaining the airway or the second gent at the microscope working away in someone's spine.
Step two: Pretend to faint. Be sure to gently lower yourself to the ground (wouldn't want to get hurt now, would we?) and a small dramatic limb flap is encouraged. When the nurse performs a quick assessment including holding your "limp" arm over your face and letting go, whatever you do, don't let it hit you in forehead. Only truly unconscious people are that boneless.
Be sure not to move even after anesthesia taps you on forehead and tells you to get up.
Step three: Cry and lie about it. Repeatedly. Make multiple and various excuses for disturbing surgery and taking eyes and ears, no matter how momentarily, from the patient. When that fails, by all means, resort to anger and indignation. Be sure to really lean into the swears when you utter them.
Success! You have been dismissed from the OR observation and clinicals in general!
As an aside, I guess this individual was a multi-offender when it came to various antics in the clinical setting. It's a real shame. Personally, I was bewildered by the whole situation. This was hands down one of the strangest and most ridiculous things I have heard of.
Students, make wise choices when you are in clinicals in regards to professionalism, behavior, etc. Think of each clinical as your standing resume as the nurses you encounter may be the same nurses on an interview panel when you come back looking for a job.
And yes, fainting in the OR does happen on occasion and for various reasons. Should you be observing and feel ill or faint, follow three little cardinal rules to keep everyone, mostly yourself, safe:
1) Step away from the sterile field or down from the lift/step you are on. If you need help, say so. No one will ignore you. (At least not the folks I work with).
2) Tell someone you don't feel well so we can help you.
3) Sit down right where you are if you cannot reach a chair. It's okay. I would rather have a student sitting in my path rather than cracking their skull on the floor.
And as Forrest Gump said: That's all I have to say about that.
~~CP~~
P.S.
For those of you who chimed in on my most recent thread the top vote was for Snickers Pie--a fine and delicious choice. Join me in celebrating the wonderful world of YUM by finding the recipe here.
