I heard how difficult the surgery rotation is and while it was definitely demanding, it was a very valuable experience for me, and I learned a lot of from it. I was exposed to the whole experience of scrubbing in and being part of the surgical team. The most difficult part for me was keeping my hands to myself whether I was scrubbed in or observing the surgery. Since I always try to be helpful, I had to constantly remind myself to not make any sudden movements to maintain the sterile field. Thankfully, I did not break the sterile field and was not kicked out of the OR. In the end, scrubbing in became routine and I felt very official doing it. I tried scrubbing in to every possible surgery I could because I kept reminding myself that I might not have another chance to have such an experience.

One of the situations that was difficult for me during my surgery rotation were the pimping questions, that definitely make me sweat a little. A lot of times I knew the answer but was unable to recall it right away or was too unsure to speak up. In order to get better at it, I need to continue my education to learn more and to be more confident in my answers. Additionally, if I didn’t know something, I looked it up after, discussed with other students, or asked the surgical team to explain it further. I believe this part will get better through time as I will be put more and more in those situations. In the end, if I didn’t know the answer and was not able to guess accurately, I admitted that I didn’t know since it is part of the learning experience.

After these demanding 5 weeks, I learned that I can be very resilient even when put in difficult situations. Even though the hours were extensive, and my commute was long, I always came in early to prepare for the day and prepared for the next day as best as I could with the limited time that I had. The first couple of days I felt a little lost, but the other PA student and medical students were very helpful. As new students came in, I made sure to support them the same way and I ended up making great friends in this rotation. Additionally, since a significant portion of my rotation was not only spent in the OR, but the clinic as well, I learned that I really enjoy the clinic time, and it was something that my preceptor strongly encouraged. I enjoyed seeing patients on my own, feeling more confident each day, and then presenting the patients to my preceptors, learning from the things that I have missed. While I was helpful and efficient in the OR, I enjoyed the time spent in the clinic just as much.

One of the memorable patient experiences that I will carry with me was an elderly gentleman with peripheral artery disease. He was admitted as I started my rotation and since I did his daily wound dressing changes and drew his blood several times, I got to know him well. He was scheduled for a below the knee amputation surgery, but it ended up being above the knee operation since it was discovered during surgery that additional portion of the leg was not salvageable. Overall, he was a great patient and since he was admitted for a lengthy period of time prior to surgery, he was always in the back of my mind. Therefore, you can imagine my excitement when he came in for a follow-up appointment in the vascular clinic. I was really happy to see him again, and to see that he was feeling well and looked happier to be out of the hospital despite the amputation. Seeing the continuation of care post-operatively and how much better the patients felt, and their appreciation really made the whole experience memorable. Surgery field is lengthy and difficult to be in, but the significant results and seeing how much better the patients feel after make the sacrifices worth it.

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