Coming back to Ben Taub Hospital is like coming home. Awesome cases, wonderful attendings, and having the privilege of working alongside incredible colleagues from all specialities really makes my time here enjoyable. I just finished my first week of neuroanesthesia and finally enjoyed a day off after two straight weeks between the ICU and neuro.
Cerebral blood flow autoregulation curves (Image: neuroanesthesia.info)
My ICU months preserved my skills in securing airways and arterial/central line placement, but being out of the general operating room for four months was unnerving. How rusty would I be in providing a safe yet efficient anesthetic? Much to my satisfaction, my training as a CA-1 last year really solidified the basics, so I was comfortable right off the bat and enjoyed my craniotomy and spinal cases this week. Plus it was great seeing so many PACU nurses, circulators, anesthesia techs, and even surgery attendings still remember me from four months ago. I’m home! 🙂
Neuroanesthesia is a special interest for me since I spent many of my pre-med and med school years aspiring to be a neurosurgeon. Neurology in general is incredibly fascinating, and the surgeries are no joke. It takes an attention to detail and anticipating/fixing problems before they even occur to ensure a patient’s safety through the case. The surgeons, scrub techs, and circulators are all wonderful this month, so we collectively get the job done, and everyone leaves happy. 🙂
Another great aspect of being back at our primary teaching hospital is seeing the new CA-1s mature into astute anesthesia providers. It brings back not-so-fond memories of a year ago when I was still blowing every… single… peripheral… IV. They’re doing great, and I’m looking forward to working with them on my call shifts tomorrow and Labor Day. 😀
