Do you really learn from scrubbing in to a surgery?

[bleeker10]

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I'm only a second year but I feel like getting lab values could bring an educational opportunity to learn something. Whether its an ABG for acid base imbalance, BUN/Cr ratio or a CBC. Maybe I'm just being optimistic or overly enthusiastic about it. Maybe I'll become jaded in third year and not want to learn from little things like lab values or being in the OR. At this point, I feel like if you actually try to learn something from anything it will make your experience better. Even if you can't see much, I bet you can learn if you ask why they closed a certain way, why the operation is done in a certain pattern, or why they used a certain type of stitch. Of course I want to go into surgery so maybe my views are a bit biased. I'll let you know in a year when I'm on my surgery rotation. I'm not trying to give advice, just more wondering if my thoughts are correct in getting the best out any rotation.

 

[cpants]

I'm only a second year but I feel like getting lab values could bring an educational opportunity to learn something. Whether its an ABG for acid base imbalance, BUN/Cr ratio or a CBC. Maybe I'm just being optimistic or overly enthusiastic about it. Maybe I'll become jaded in third year and not want to learn from little things like lab values or being in the OR. At this point, I feel like if you actually try to learn something from anything it will make your experience better. Even if you can't see much, I bet you can learn if you ask why they closed a certain way, why the operation is done in a certain pattern, or why they used a certain type of stitch. Of course I want to go into surgery so maybe my views are a bit biased. I'll let you know in a year when I'm on my surgery rotation. I'm not trying to give advice, just more wondering if my thoughts are correct in getting the best out any rotation.

Honestly, I think retrieving labs can be one of the MORE educational activities you do as a third year. True, you learn nothing by writing the numbers down off a computer screen. You do learn a ton by analyzing what that information means and trying to develop a treatment plan based on the information. If you see the patient is hyperkalemic, for example, you should think about why, what the next management and diagnostic steps are. Then present that to the team with your labs, or at least ask questions if their plan is different than yours. Depending on where you are, you should write the orders for what you think should be done. If you are right, the intern will sign off on them. If not, it's another learning opportunity. You will realize it wasn't scut when you are on call your first night as an intern and a patient's lytes are all screwed up.

 

[DrBowtie]

I might be biased as I loved surgery and also the people I worked with, but surgery (compared to neuro and psych) was the one rotation thus far that I actually felt like I contributed to the team effort and my residents were genuinely thankful for my efforts since they had so much other crap to do already.

Getting AM labs, pulling drains & tubes, removing sutures may be scutwork, but it makes everyone happy and GIVES MORE TIME TO TEACH. It is also rewarded with opportunities in the OR. In my experience, surgeons are workers. They will like a hustler over a brainiac any day of the week.

It really depends on the people that you rotate with and I'm trying not to let that influence my residency decision too much.