Hey Ya'll,
I apologize that it has been so long since I've written my blog. My internet hasn't been working for weeks at home and I definitely don't have time to do it at work. Quite a lot has happened since I last blogged. I completed by labor and delivery rotation on September 30. I REALLY enjoyed L&D. I had some really awesome experiences. I did several emergency (or throw-down stat) cesarean sections while on the suite. Stats are very exhilarating and they really get your adrenaline going. I had a really great upper level who allowed me to get some great experience, including being responsible for the initial incision in the stat c-sections. The difference between an emergency c-section and a regular one is that it's just that, an emergency. So, we don't take time to thoroughly dissect. Our primary goal is to get the baby out as fast as we can because the baby is compromised.
I can remember my very first one. My upper level looked at me with the most piercing eyes over her mask and said, "You've gotta be quick okay? You need to get down to the muscle with one incision. Can you do that?" My heart was RACING, but I had this strange confidence that I could do it. It's probably because she had been so encouraging and always allowed me to not just assist, but be the surgeon. She always made me call for my own instruments and asked, "so what do you want to do now." Hence, I felt that if she trusted me to go for it, she felt I could do it. I had by hand firmly on the scalpel and waited for the "go" from anesthesia. When they gave us the go I took a deep breath and made my incision straight down to the fascia. I'll spare y'all the other details, but we got from skin to having the baby delivered in 60 seconds! To say that it was exhilarating is an UNDERSTATEMENT. The whole operation took less than 30 minutes. My upper level then bragged, telling everyone "I just want you to know that my intern just did a stat from skin to delivery in 60 seconds!" She always praises you when you do well and corrects you when you've done something wrong. I like that about her.
The nurses on l&d were also awesome. I love them! I could always ask them for advice when I was unsure and could count on them not allowing me to jack something up. They are so thorough and in tune to what the patients needs and I could be SURE that if the fetal heart rate tracing looked bad, they would already be in the room doing what needed to be done... because they're AWESOME. They're also a lot of fun to be around; Definitely some of my favorite peeps.
I am now the House Officer I, or HO-I. I carry the first call pager, do postpartum tubal ligations, go to ER consults with the Consult senior and am responsible for taking care of the floor work. That first call pager can sometimes be the bane of my existence, but I do enjoy the job. I get paged for everything from orders needing to be changed to postpartum hemorrhages occurring on the floor. I had my first floor postpartum hemorrhage the other day and I was amazed at how far I've come in just a few months. I wasn't panicked. I knew what to do and didn't have to call my upper level immediately. I was able to get started then call her. (FYI: It's poor form to not call your upper level on things like that. You will definitely get your face chewed whether you thought you knew what you were doing or not. You also not want to get too big for your britches. We're still interns, after all! LOL). But, it does feel good to know that you're competent enough to control the situation until an upper level gets there.
I'm now almost done with month 4! I get my first vacation week after next and I am SO looking forward to it! I don't know what I'm going to do, but I know a lot of rest and relaxation is involved! When I return, I'll only have a few more days of this rotation left then I'll move on to the next thing. After this month, we only have 9 months (or a term gestation) to go. I know one thing for sure, ALL of the interns of the world are ready to give birth to this baby called SECOND YEAR! Only 9 months to go!!
Thank you for your continued support and prayers! Until next time...
Your favorite MD,
Keisha B.
Mahogany Pearl: You can do anything for 9 months, right!! (LOL)
