Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Emergency Medicine: Day One
Well, last night was my first night on my EM rotation. If you don't know anything about me, I'm very interested in EM as a final career choice. In fact, I've been interested in EM since before medical school - I worked in the ED as a Registered Nurse for over 2 years in 2 states and 6 different cities.
Overall, I must say, the first night was pretty cool. Of course, it was only the first day, and I'm expecting it to get better as we go along. It's been awhile since I actually had to do a History and Physical, since my last 3 rotations included OMT, Anesthesiology and a study month for Step 2 of the medical licensure exams. So, it's been at least 3 months since I actually had to perform any real H&P-type stuff. Needless to say, I'm a little rusty. Fortunately, EM is rapid-fire H&Ps, so I'm getting it all back pretty quickly.
One of the great things about EM rotations is that you get to do lots of procedures, along with everything else. Last night was not a great example, but I did get to insert a femoral line. It wasn't my first time to insert a femoral line, but the practice was great. Maybe I'll explain about all these procedures later, when I'm not tired.
Anyways, I'm really enjoying myself so far - of course, it is really only the first day. Finally, after 3 years of training, I get to do what I love!! It's really weird, because I'm working at a hospital at which I worked before starting medical school - so seeing a lot of the same faces is kind of strange, especially since my role has changed so much from the last time I was there. It puts the difference between physician and nurse in stark perspective.
more later, I need to go to bed
¶ 7:30:00 AM
Overall, I must say, the first night was pretty cool. Of course, it was only the first day, and I'm expecting it to get better as we go along. It's been awhile since I actually had to do a History and Physical, since my last 3 rotations included OMT, Anesthesiology and a study month for Step 2 of the medical licensure exams. So, it's been at least 3 months since I actually had to perform any real H&P-type stuff. Needless to say, I'm a little rusty. Fortunately, EM is rapid-fire H&Ps, so I'm getting it all back pretty quickly.
One of the great things about EM rotations is that you get to do lots of procedures, along with everything else. Last night was not a great example, but I did get to insert a femoral line. It wasn't my first time to insert a femoral line, but the practice was great. Maybe I'll explain about all these procedures later, when I'm not tired.
Anyways, I'm really enjoying myself so far - of course, it is really only the first day. Finally, after 3 years of training, I get to do what I love!! It's really weird, because I'm working at a hospital at which I worked before starting medical school - so seeing a lot of the same faces is kind of strange, especially since my role has changed so much from the last time I was there. It puts the difference between physician and nurse in stark perspective.
more later, I need to go to bed
¶ 7:30:00 AM
