Thursday, March 19, 2009

This will only sting for a second

Once again I find myself doing many things that I don't feel I've been properly trained to do. Today I placed 3 IV's, did 2 intubations (one unsuccessfully, but who cares), and one laryngeal mask airway. At this point, I've done everything to put the patient to sleep but actually push the "party juice" and really, anyone can do that, it's just that you need a medical license to get it from the pharmacy. I've also seen some incredible things in the OR, like the blood bath of a hip replacement and a heart beating from a cracked-open chest during bypass. How cool is my job?

That brings me to one more day of my (too short) anesthesia rotation and I find myself at an uncomfortable crossroads. Here's the problem: I really like it. Huh? Okay, so I was all set on a career in pediatrics from Day 1, and nothing has been able to sway me from that. Until now. I wouldn't even call it a full sway, more like a persistent nudge. But it's tempting. Great hours, great pay, great colleagues. More procedures, lots of in-your-face cause-and-effect, staying on your toes, shouting "Mr. Simon, WAKE UP!" I'll have to do some serious thinking about throwing an anesthesia rotation into early 4th year if I'm going to figure this out. Pray for me. I'll need it.

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