Now that I’ve completed my surgical ICU experience, I have a renewed sense of how pivotal teamwork is in the clinical setting. Coordination between pharmacists, respiratory therapists, nurses, and physicians was absolutely paramount in creating an ideal plan for each patient. It was also interesting to note the other parts of the environment. Each afternoon, the SICU lights would be dimmed for ~1.5 hours while some relaxing music would replace the ambient noise of monitor alarms. While this was difficult for the residents (try staying awake in such a peaceful setting), the entire SICU would seem to freeze as patients tried to catch even an hour of sleep.
I was fortunate to work with two interns who were MS4s at Baylor Med only a few months ago. They let me partake in almost every bedside procedure and O.R. case I wanted to. Our fearless upper level resident also made sure that the service operated efficiently from every aspect. As a parting gift, one of the interns and I decided to spoil ourselves on Friday.
I’ll be starting a month of cardiovascular (CV) anesthesiology tomorrow at another wonderful venue – The Texas Heart Institute. While I’m expecting some of the routine operative anesthesiology (placing lines, intubating, etc), CV anesthesiology requires a complex understanding of how to reestablish hemodynamic equilibrium in the face of vascular clamping, massive blood loss, significant comorbidities, and the like. It’ll be a wonderful learning opportunity… I just hate getting oriented over the first day or two of any new rotation.
Also, Step 2 CS is creeping closer and closer. I finally opened First Aid for Step 2 CS this afternoon… two weeks left till the big day. Unfortunately, the summer Olympics are distracting me 24/7.
