Sunday, September 24, 2017

Diary of a Third-Year Vet Student: I, Surgeon

I know, it's been over a month since I posted anything. It's not like there has been nothing going on at CircusK9, but I haven't felt that the goings-on were all that blog-worthy. I gave my laying hen/ovarian cancer talk (well received, lots of positive faculty questions and feedback), I testified in a sexual discrimination/tenure revocation case for the university (I may post on this later but I'll just leave it like this for now), and classes started back up last week. Archie got his second Excellent Jumpers Q yesterday with a very fine run (I am determined to keep up his classes and competition). And I perform my first surgery on Monday afternoon, an elective neuter on a shelter dog. Since this is a post in the recurring series "Diary of a Vet Student", let's unpack that one a bit more.

After we took our Principles of Surgery lab final exam at the end of the spring term, one of the things we had to do was record our height on a spreadsheet. The student teaching lab manager used that information and her own personal observations of us during the spring term to divide us into groups of three. The team of three will rotate through three positions: surgeon, assistant, and anesthesiologist. Each of us will take each role for a dog neuter, a cat neuter, and a dog or cat spay. But why height? The surgery tables are adjustable, and are set to fit the needs of the surgeon. But if the surgeon's assistant or the anesthesiologist are much taller or shorter than that surgeon, they might have difficulty doing their jobs for that particular surgery. So, for a very reasonable reason, our lab partners this term are similar to us in height.  

Here's where things get interesting. From my team of three, I was chosen to be the surgeon for the first surgery of the term. Monday. Tomorrow. I assumed that was random, since we all get to do it eventually. But I found out today that it might not have been random at all. I trust my source for this intel but I'm not sure the person she got it from wasn't maybe pulling her leg. My friend told me that those of us picked to be surgeons for the first surgery were chosen because we were deemed to be the most level-headed of our team, the ones who, it was thought, would hold up better under the stress that this first surgery is going to put on us all. Experience didn't factor in. I sort of want this to be true, since I've never cut into a live animal before (that is, I have no direct surgical experience) and one of my teammates has. But when I look at them, smart and clever and not at all flappable, I wonder, am I really more level-headed than they are?

For some weeks now, I've been practicing suture patterns and knots until my hands get sore, watching videos, reading the recommended texts. I think I am ready. It won't be perfect but I trust my teammates to catch me if I fall. Exactly as I would do for them. 

Got to cut this one short. I need to watch the video about how to make buried knots again before I go to bed.