Having been the lucky OB student to get the last call night of the month, I stumbled out of the labor and delivery (L&D) wing and went straight down to McDonald’s to fuel myself with caffeine for the long commute home. I had finished obstetrics – a month that was filled with learning about a field in which I had little prior knowledge as well as augmenting my views of the human condition as a whole. And it was a great month indeed.
Last week, I was in the clinic seeing patients only till ~1 pm and spending the afternoons playing Team Fortress 2, watching Fresh Prince reruns, and doing some practice questions for the shelf exam (yes, this list is in order of decreasing importance). I preferred the fast-paced nature of clinic over the extended idle periods I sometimes had in L&D; fortunately, I was privileged to work with a set of incredibly intelligent residents who were also great teachers! Plus, there’s nothing quite like delivering babies. 🙂
Having completed rotations in internal medicine and psychiatry, obstetrics was my first opportunity for operating room time as part of my clinical responsibilities. Scrubbing in on mainly bilateral tubal ligations and Caesarian sections, I quickly learned the roles of everyone around the operating table. An intern or PGY2 usually drives the surgery with the supervision of an upper-level resident; an attending physician is readily available at all times. And I’m there trying not to contaminate the sterile field. 🙂
Also, obstetrics provided me with a newfound appreciation regarding life – I am so glad I don’t have a uterus. Although, I suppose if I rotate through urology at some point, redemption will be served. 😀
Tomorrow morning will mark the beginning of a month of gynecology, the first week being spent at a resident-run clinic near my undergrad. *nostalgia* With the shelf exam only a month away and accounting for 40% of the clerkship grade, I’ve got quite a bit of studying left to do.
