Finally

I finally ENJOYED one of the surgeries I scrubbed in on! Wahoo!!! Apparently I really like vascular surgery. Never EVER would have guessed that in a million years. I just really liked watching them tease out the arteries and veins and SO wanted to get my hands in there and do it myself. It's so much different in a living pt than in a cadaver. Finding arteries and veins was not my idea of a good time during Gross lab.

Today we made an AV fistula in the arm for a patient's hemodialysis access. The surgeon also moved the vein more superficial than it was originally to allow for easier access for the nurses who will be sticking the pt when it's time for dialysis.

The best part of the case: You get to SIT DOWN during vascular cases. Score. Also, the attending and resident were really nice and I only got asked one question, which of course I didn't know the answer to. Once again, nice attending, so it wasn't completely mortifying - just a "teaching experience" as they call them.

Exciting part: I got to suture the underlying tissue together and then staple the incision. It was my 2nd time suturing, and a different technique than the one I did the 1st time, so I was glad to learn how to do it. Surgeons make it look easy, but there's very subtle differences in how they hold the tools, tie the knots, etc... which can make us look very clumsy comparatively. Anyway, it's now time to get in the bed. Gotta be up at 3:00 :)
7 more days at the VA - wahoo!