Operating Room Experience

The Operating Room (OR) rotation at Xavier University Community Health Care Center (or more commonly known as German Doctors Hospital) was very fun and memorable. It was unfortunate thought that we weren't able to get inside the OR during the first week of duty because there were Australians who were on a sort of medical mission surgically repairing cleft palates, hare lips, and etc. It was cruel but they only allowed two student to scrub in and it was unfortunate that I wasn't one of the two. So what was I doing during the first week? We had to be in the Interplast Ward and gave preoperative care to the patients waiting to be called in the OR. In short, we just stood there and took vital signs every four hours or so.

But I was lucky enough to get a minor surgical case. An excision of a fibroadenoma at the left breast. It was a pretty quick operation, around 15 minutes, and every moment was really amazing. The surgeon took up nursing as his pre-med course and he was very skillful and nice. It was a shame but I broke my sterility but the nurse and surgeon were very understanding that this was my first time and all. But after my first assist in a surgical operation everything seemed ok although I have to admit that I still have a lot to learn especially making nurse's notes (hahaha).

I also had the opportunity to be a circulating nurse for one of those cataract-removing-lens-replacing surgeries (which is PECLE, in medical terms, or Planned ExtraCapsular Lens Extraction). It was really amazing how the doctor used microscopic instruments to do the procedure. At first I thought he was just playing with his hands but then I remembered that he was using a suture that was very fine and could only be seen with the use of a microscope.

It was unfortunate that my group mates and I only had a few cases but it wasn't totally that bad because we were able to use that extra time to bond and improve our team work and such.

The OR rotation may be one of my favorite rotations so far, aside from the delivery room rotation, and the pediatric rotation where I was all of the sudden assigned to a patient in the intensive care unit.

Note: We were allowed to bring our cameras and cellphone inside the operating room to document the procedures. No patient confidentiality was breached in these pictures.

Additional Note: There was no patient in the operating room when the student nurses were happily taking pictures of themselves.