First ‘proper’ day
Posted on August 5th, 2008 by Rob.
So I arrived at 8am and the House Officer whose job I am taking over gave me a bit of a tour. I?d met her before and she we?d chatted about the job at length. At about 9am she said ?right ? I start my new job in London tomorrow morning and I have to pack and drive there today ? do you mind if I go??. So there I was in Central Delivery Suite (CDS ? Labour Ward). I?m a doctor. I?m wearing scrubs; I have a stethoscope around my neck, a name badge saying ?doctor?, and a bleep. Good lord ? What has just happened?
A midwife comes to me and says ?can you prescribe some morphine for my lady in 3, doctor?? I don?t know! Can I? I hesitate for a second. I know nothing about this woman. I?ve never seen her, never spoken to her, and I haven?t asked about her allergies. The midwife gets a bit more hurried and so I cave in and just do as requested ? my first prescription for morphine no less. I?m still expecting the police to break the door down and arrest me.
Then my bleep goes off. I pick up the phone and called the number on the display. I say ?hello you bleeped the obs house officer?. The voice replies ?It?s the reg, where are you??. I explain that I?m on CDS. ?Well I can?t do the section on my own come to maternity theatre to assist me?. So I stand up and ask the midwife ? where?s maternity theatre? The door directly in front of me!!
I spent the next three hours holding retractors, pushing here, pulling there and getting back ache. The afternoon was filled with more Caesarean sections but with a different reg. Unlike this morning the reg was chatty and asked questions, showed me things and explained what he was doing. By the last case he said do you want to try closing the skin? And my answer: ?YES PLEASE?. So on my first day I learnt and did subcuticular skin sutures.
Tags: Gynaecology, Obstetrics, Surgery
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An eventful first day, it would seem!
Nothing like being dropped in at the deep end.
Can I ask, how did it compare to the weeks shadowing you did?