Surgeries

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Where do people go sign up to watch them? Im going to have some free time this summer, and wanted to watch some. And I wont bring any junior mints 😀.

 

[johnd]

I don't know if you can do this if you're not in med school or something like that. If you had to have surgery, would you want the general public watching?

 

[Chemguync]

u just gotta find a surgeon who doesn't mind, and get permission from the red tape ladies so they'll let you in the OR.

 

[TRUE]

u just gotta find a surgeon who doesn't mind, and get permission from the red tape ladies so they'll let you in the OR.

Yea. Connections help. I sat in on quite a few surgeries in HS. Overall though, even though I'm very intersted in surgery and some of the stuff I was seeing, sitting there for hours on end is somewhat boring. But good luck.

 

[curlycity]

If you have a surgeon or nurse buddy who will get you in, that's how most people get to see surgery. I had a nurse friend who hooked me up with a nice surgeon and was also willing to steer me to the changing area and asking the patient's permission (I had to do this personally) - basically keeping track of me the whole time so I didn't cause any incidents (Junior Mints, yeah!). You could also ask around among med students on rotations - one of my friends took me along for the day on her surgery rotation, and at a teaching hospital, they're used to ignoring kids walking around so I just faded into the background and didn't have to do any patient permission stuff.

The patients I talked to didn't have a problem with me observing, so as long as you ask politely and express some nice interest in their well-being it should go smoothly 🙂

 

[ad_sharp]

Yeah, I agree with some of the previous posters. When I shadowed a surgeon, I knew a lady who worked as a secretary for him. She hooked me up and I was even able to scrub in for the surgery and hold a guys abdominal cavity open with a spatula while they did a aortic bypass. It was pretty darned cool. If you don't know anybody, just go to the hospital's website. They generally have a way to contact a doc via email.

btw, that episode of Sienfeld w/ the junior mints was hilarious

 

[Jamaican MD]

With HIPPA, you'll probably have to work in a hospital, know a surgeon, or be enrolled in med school. Before HIPPA, I had no problems getting into the OR. Now, even though I work in a hospital, I was told that I would have to get permission from the surgeon, the patient, etc.

 

[docmemi]

its sooooo boring to watch. usually you just stand in the back and watch. so boring, trust me. you can also try watching a webcast of it...search online.

but yeah, pretty much you have to shadow a surgeon that will let you in without anyone saying anything.

 

[lotanna]

yeah HIPAA basically made it a whole lot harder. Thank goodness for medical mission trips overseas, cause I got to scrub in for surgeries whenever i wanted to. No need for patient permission or anything. I got to stitch it up,keep the area clean--gauze was my friend. I'm a hernia expert now, should post pics 😀
Much respect to surgeons though, I couldnt do it back to back, longest time for me was 3hrs, and the surgeon had another one scheduled like 15mins afterwards, he was like so u'll scrub in? I was like yeah in a couple of hrs

 

[Mr Reddly]

its sooooo boring to watch. usually you just stand in the back and watch. so boring, trust me. you can also try watching a webcast of it...search online.

but yeah, pretty much you have to shadow a surgeon that will let you in without anyone saying anything.

Boring my ass! I was able to watch a bunch due to work. There were times when I was standing 2 inches from the surgeon. One time, the anathesiologist moved aside and I got to watch at the patient's head and see everything. Watching on TV is not the same as live and in person. To see a laproscopic procedure on TV is one thing, but to be there is another.

But ya, HIPAA... Boooo. 😡

Oh ya. For anyone who has not but will see one, just don't touch anything with a blue tarp draped over it. This includes putting supplies on the tarp. ...oops. 😳

 

[DrPharaohX]

Back in summer of 2002 I just asked to volunteer at my local VA's OR and I got to see a butt load of orthopedic cases (total anything really). It didn't stop at ortho though, there were some unique surgeries that I could sit in on. I do admit though that some get old real fast (open heart surgery....no joke). Among the few interesting ones I saw were eye lens replacement, repairing a hand's broken bones by using fluoro machine, and the total knees/hips.

 

[DrPharaohX]

One time, the anathesiologist moved aside and I got to watch at the patient's head and see everything.

Cool, I got to do that once too. I got so close that when the surgeons were moving a blood vessel through the chest cavity, it sprayed some blood on my scrubs (thankfully not on me though). Interesting times...learned some good things about heart circulation and CABG procedures from that.

 

[Fermata]

Watch them for free online:

www.or-live.com

Take care.

 

[CalBeE]

I'd rather watch Human Anatomy in another format online 😉

 

[SoCalOrBust]

Back in summer of 2002 I just asked to volunteer at my local VA's OR and I got to see a butt load of orthopedic cases (total anything really).

I did the same exact thing. I volunteered at a local Kaiser and I just walked up to the OR and asked. They let me throw on some scrubs and follow an ortho surgeon. Everyone there thought that I was already a med student since this was in a small city away from any major teaching hosptials (they don't see many of us premed fok). It was cool cuz you did't get stuck with the premed crowd there. I didnt get to do anything though, and they were really strict about keeping a distance and not touching anything.