Saturday night on trauma surgery- CRAZY!!! Lots of stabbings, shootings, people getting run over by things...

I saw a lady who had a neck laceration that looked a lot like this picture (that I got from google):

Although in my case the wound was BLEEDING PROFUSELY and it was my job to "hold the neck" and apply pressure while they were getting her ready for surgery so that she wouldn't bleed out.

I also saw this crazy thing: an EMERGENCY THORACOTOMY:

Where they opened a guy's chest in the Emergency Room and massaged his heart from the inside. I was standing beside the guy that did it. It was insane.

I have done a complete 180 on my opinion of Gold surgery. Last night I did call and it was AWESOME! (yeah!)

I saw a bunch of people with trauma, and I also got to put in my first chest tube.

Like this. I put my finger into someone's pleural cavity and felt their lung!

So, there has been some discussion as to what to do with the two weeks off us med students get off each summer. There are some things that are going to be taken for granted, like a LOT of sleeping in. And probably some drinking. And most likely a lot of eating.

However WHERE these tasks are to be done is raising some debate. Most likely a camping trip to Paint Lake will be undertaken. Here's what it looks like:

Pretty, no?

However I am still trying to do some convincing about Jasper:

Because its slightly more exotic and not that much more expensive.

Anyway, the debate rages on.

I'm done with plastic surgery and have moved onto orthopedic surgery. I like it better, for the following reasons:

1. the residents are nicer. Not that the plastics residents weren't nice. Its just- my role on the surgery 'team' isn't well defined, which means that mostly I follow people around and am a pain in the ass, and I was very AWARE that I was a pain in the ass to the plastics team. The ortho residents talk to me more, and even gave me and the other student a teaching session directed JUST at us. It was good stuff

2. The surgeries are cooler. Mostly I think because I get the concept of these surgeries more. Its like- "your hip is broken? Lets get that sucker out of there and GIVE YOU A NEW ONE." and then they do.

3. The hours are better. Slightly. No 6:00 am starts anymore. (Now its at 6:45 am every day.)

Only two weeks of this and its on to TRAUMA SURGERY!!!