I started my surgical internship today. Covid has had an impact on many things. Including the ability to visit places to see what they are like which pre-covid was something very important for me. Whilst I had spoken to several people via video I never had a chance to visit so arrived with no expectations. Something that had impressed me was the way my induction was planned being assigned a buddy and a plan to get me up to speed as part of the team. It is scary that it is not the norm; however a structured induction has made it so much easier to fit in and understand what is expected of me.
The First Day
For a first day getting through health and safety training, induction paperwork and other administration essentials is often a mission. However I got lucky in getting this completed in super quick time allowing me to scrub in on the last surgery of the day. Very cool elbow arthroscopy with an electronic shaver to remove the diseased medial coronoid process which is something that I’ve not seen before.
From there it got even better. Whilst trying to learn people’s names. Where things are kept. It has been an awesome week! It has been ages since I’ve been scrubbed in for so much surgery. Especially when they are procedures that I’ve not had the pleasure of seeing before. Multiple arthroscopies, mainly elbows but got to see my first stifle scope as well. Many fractures. A free skin graft which was really cool. And quite a few Ex-fixes.
Resolution
I got to work with a 1.5 tesla MRI machine as well! The difference between this and weaker magnet MRI machines is astounding. It was almost like going from a black and white TV to a HD color TV, for the first time I could make out full detail. I’d always beaten myself up previously here as I’d struggled so much with MRI over the last year and never been able to see what people were telling me was there. I am excited now as I know that I will get to learn so much better with my imaging here.
This week I even clocked up my first time drilling and placing locking screws! This was a highlight of my week as this was something I had never been given the opportunity to do before (at least outside of a training lab).
Looking Forward
If this continues I have a feeling that my year here is going fly by! It may even be too short. I am excited to see what this week brings. I am actually excited to go to work again!
