Usually my posts have a set theme, an attempt at an artistic and poetic view of medicine and a reference as to how this refers to my personal life. But today has been one of those days where even if the perfect scenario played out before me, I wouldn't be able to make it as perfect as I want. So I figured that the next best thing would be to post my sparatic, unpoetic post anyways. Because my blog is like my life, and like everything else, it is far from perfect.
Starting next week for the duration of a few days, I have been allowed to
go into our OR's and watch an operation. I am extremely excited that they are allowing me to do this, and have since been practicing the 'scrubbing in' technique one of my night nurses taught me about. (40 times over each side of the hand, 20 times on each side of each finger, etc.) I won't be doing anything but standing, but that is amazing in and of itself and to go home that night and know I smell like surgery will make an evening that much sweeter.
However, this brings me to something I had said earlier today. Am I too damn young for this? I mean, when we see a patient having any surgery at an age younger than 50 we all say 'they are WAY too young for that operation!' Which brings me to where I am now. I'm not the patient who is 20 and having a knee replacement. I am the CNA who helps them in and out of bed, who offers advice about their operation. I am by no means their superior, I am a part of their cohort, but does that mean that I too, am too young?
After all, while most my 20-year-old friends are busy worried about their weird tan lines and how to catch that cute guy in their physics class, I am worried about when I can get into the O.R. Something that even television broadcasts as something that older adults get to do (don't be fooled with looks, even Grey's Anatomy characters are 28 + years old!).
Maybe I am too damn young for this. Then again, maybe I am a step ahead of the game, and this step ahead will further me in my life, my career and my personal growth.
Working in medicine isn't easy. It's meant to be hard for a reason. It's meant to kick your ass. All of us will admit it, but I will be the first to tell you that I have seriously contemplated my place in medicine. I have tried to get away from it. I have worked the pizza shops and the office jobs and I found myself miserable more than I was ever happy. Nights when the patients wont lay off their call lights, nights when advanced procedures are needed, nights when you don't stop running for 12 hours straight, those are the nights you swear it off. But we are medical professionals and we vowed to 'first, do no harm.' The best part about it is that we never specified who we wouldn't harm, this is not just our patients, this is ourselves. We love medicine, we love our jobs, so instead of walking off the job, we dig our heels in, hold on tight and enjoy the ride. No matter what our age, medicine will always teach us life-long lessons, and kick our asses.
Starting next week for the duration of a few days, I have been allowed to
go into our OR's and watch an operation. I am extremely excited that they are allowing me to do this, and have since been practicing the 'scrubbing in' technique one of my night nurses taught me about. (40 times over each side of the hand, 20 times on each side of each finger, etc.) I won't be doing anything but standing, but that is amazing in and of itself and to go home that night and know I smell like surgery will make an evening that much sweeter.However, this brings me to something I had said earlier today. Am I too damn young for this? I mean, when we see a patient having any surgery at an age younger than 50 we all say 'they are WAY too young for that operation!' Which brings me to where I am now. I'm not the patient who is 20 and having a knee replacement. I am the CNA who helps them in and out of bed, who offers advice about their operation. I am by no means their superior, I am a part of their cohort, but does that mean that I too, am too young?
After all, while most my 20-year-old friends are busy worried about their weird tan lines and how to catch that cute guy in their physics class, I am worried about when I can get into the O.R. Something that even television broadcasts as something that older adults get to do (don't be fooled with looks, even Grey's Anatomy characters are 28 + years old!).
Maybe I am too damn young for this. Then again, maybe I am a step ahead of the game, and this step ahead will further me in my life, my career and my personal growth.
Working in medicine isn't easy. It's meant to be hard for a reason. It's meant to kick your ass. All of us will admit it, but I will be the first to tell you that I have seriously contemplated my place in medicine. I have tried to get away from it. I have worked the pizza shops and the office jobs and I found myself miserable more than I was ever happy. Nights when the patients wont lay off their call lights, nights when advanced procedures are needed, nights when you don't stop running for 12 hours straight, those are the nights you swear it off. But we are medical professionals and we vowed to 'first, do no harm.' The best part about it is that we never specified who we wouldn't harm, this is not just our patients, this is ourselves. We love medicine, we love our jobs, so instead of walking off the job, we dig our heels in, hold on tight and enjoy the ride. No matter what our age, medicine will always teach us life-long lessons, and kick our asses.
1 comment:
You are a busy busy girl! But good for you! I love the medical field!! Although just doing the office part of it, I have learned so much! Keep up the hard work! You will have a career that rewards you in many ways!
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