sixth first day

My first day of Obstetrics was actually my tenth first day if I count all my sub-rotations. In fact, life in third year is kind of like one big perpetual, first day, because even within one rotation, you go to so many different clinics, and operating rooms, and hospitals where you are always working with different people. You are always showing up at the wrong time (usually too early) and trying to figure out where you should put your stuff, and what stuff they want you to be carrying, and if you are wearing the right kind of clothes, and if you are supposed to read the chart only, read the chart and see the patient on your own, or just follow the doctor around doing your best not to slow them down. Often, you are surprising the professional that you are supposed to be working with, as they come in to work in the morning, or back from lunch. And, always you start with, "Hi there, are you Dr. (fill in name on schedule)? I am Courtney Collins, the third year (fill in rotation) MSI. I am scheduled to work with you (fill in amount of time on schedule)".

Last Friday, when I met the surgeon that I was going to be working, I started with the usual - "Hi, Are you Dr. F? I am Courtney Collins one of the third year... ...um...ah...errr..." I couldn't remember the word for the type of medicine I was rotating through (which was Gynecology) all I could think of was the word "uterus" which was not going to work in the sentence I had already started to contruct - "...medical students" I finished. "That went really well - good first impression Courtney. I am sure this doctor who you have just dazzled with your confidence is going to be really eager to let you do way more than simply hold retractors today" I thought. But it turned out that she was extremely nice to me all day, and even let me open the abdomen for the third case. That meant I got to use the scalpel and the caudery, which made me very excited.

Back to my first all shift of Obstetrics though. I had to laugh at myself Wednesday morning as I was using a very awkward and flimsy hook made of two wire coat hangers straightened and twisted together to try and retrieve my bike clothes from the shaft of nothing that I had dropped them into earlier that morning. I found the wire-retriever-thingy already assembled which comforted me with the thought that I wasn't the first person to do this. As I mentioned previously, it is always a challenge to figure out where the best place to leave your stuff is. Usually, when you have to change into scrubs, you end up stashing your clothes on the very dusty tops of the lockers that are assigned to more permanent people. That's what I did Wednesday morning, and then, the instant that I let them go, I realized that I hadn't set them on anything, and 0.5 seconds later I heard them hit the floor. There were two row of lockers (one on each wall) that met in the corner of the room, except they actually met just before the corner of the room, leaving a space, as high as a full length locker, for me to drop my clothes into. Sigh. I got them out though. Thank goodness for the wire-retriever-thingy.