Reflection of the Internship so far

I can't believe that one and a half months have already passed since I've been to the OR!

As an observer, I get to see more than 10 surgeries (a part of this wonderland!)
Whenever I put scrubs on, I feel like the most lucky student in the world.

Even though I am the person who hates to wake up in the morning, I never was upset about waking up early to go to the hospital. I was really amazed at myself!

I definitely appreciate that I'm given this opportunity which not everyone can experience.

I still remember the first time when I walked in the OR and how I felt. I was like "This is my passion." I just loved it and I just wanted to stay there forever! Even watching surgeries made me feel so special that I was in awe for a while. Also, doctors are not only operating but also asking & answering me questions. They are so nice that I feel thankful all the time. Thanks to them, there are a great number of things that I have learned! For example, how surgical tools are working, what kinds of surgeries there are, what kinds of doctors there are and so on. A lot of people told me that if I want to be a surgeon only after watching Grey's Anatomy, I shouldn't be one because that's not the reality; however, that's not the reason I want to be a surgeon. According to the feeling when I walked in the OR for the first time, I know myself that being a doctor is my dream and that's what I really have passion in. The only question is whether I really want to be a doctor after committed to live my all 20s while studying for one goal. So many people are telling me that it's worth it and I look like I can be a great doctor! On the other hand, it's still my dilemma as a person who really wants to enjoy life and spend whole time efficiently. I hope that I can make up my mind as soon as possible!

For sure, I'm enjoying this internship so much! This internship is not only an awesome opportunity to see surgeries but also the way to find my dream and future.

Umbilical Hernia

It was my second to watch this surgery, umbilical Hernia.

I realized that I've been into OR, more than 10 times so far even though I feel like I've started this internship since last week. Time goes by so fast!

There are so many things I don't know about "the wonderland of SURGEONS" yet. I'm getting to know a lot of information thanks to extremely kind surgeons.

Today, I learned that there are two types of needles. One is continuous, which means it's longer than the other one and it needs to be cut by scissors. The other one is pop-off?, which means that the the needle can be apart from hook when the doctor pulls it away.

After the surgery ended, an anesthesiologist put a pipe into a patient's mouth and sucked yellow liquid out from the stomach as to prevent him from vomiting after waking up.

Also, when the patient peed without consciousness on an operating table, no one was screaming or something. People who were in OR, reacted really casually and gently. I was really surprised and impressed by how they reacted.

I had a long conversation with a doctor who was setting up the tools for the next surgery. It was really nice talking to him. When he asked me what I want to be, I said maybe Cardiovascular surgeon and he said to me, "you look like one with those two little hands that can allow you to operate gently and precisely." I was really happy when he told me this.

Today was another best day!

A Trigger Finger and Crooked Foot Sugery

Both of patients, today, were young children. The first one, a 4 years old boy, had a trigger finger. It took only 15 minutes to operate on, a quick but beneficial surgery for his life. The second one, a 10 years old girl had badly cooked feet. However, the doctor only operated on the left foot, the worse one. She was born with those crooked feet. I felt extremely bad to both of them and thankful for my parents to make me not suffer from any disease or disabled body. Both of surgeries took only around 20 minutes, which was amazingly fast! I realized that even 20 minutes long surgery changes one's life and takes forever to prepare for. 

Robotic Ovarian Cystectomy

I always wonder how robots can help doctors to operate the surgery. And! I finally had a chance to see the robotic surgery, which was called robotic ovarian cystectomy.

It was really amazing to see the doctor controlling the machine in the surgeon console. He was controlling the joystick and pedals to move the actual surgical arm cart. The doctor let me come and see through those lenses in the surgeon console. The screen was 3D inside the binoculars so that doctors could actually feel easier to operate. It was awesome!  Even though they were apart from each other, the way how it worked was tremendous! On the other hand, the one thing I realized was that there were more mistakes than when he actually operated with his hands directly. Eventually, He took the teratoma out from the ovary. It was only one and full of oil inside. The doctor was taking a picture of it after having the surgery done in order to show his patient and her family. I asked him whether it was all right to take pictures of it but of course not for patient's privacy. I definitely understood that! I'm looking forward to next week!

Teratoma is an encapsulated tumor with tissue or organ components resembling normal derivatives of more than one germ layer. The tissues of a teratoma, although normal in themselves, may be quite different from surrounding tissues and may be highly disparate; teratomas have been reported to contain hair, teeth, bone and, very rarely, more complex organs or processes such as eyes, torso, and hands, feet, or other limbs.