Finally having a *blast* in Women's Health

Hey all. Tuesday began my first day in Women's Health in Brockton. First though, a quick update on my former Pedi rotation. The last time I contributed to this blog, I was complaining about not really being thrown in with patients right away. Well, eventually, I was doing lots of annual physicals for all the *kiddos* and seeing many a sick patient. I was beginning to wonder if there was anything other than the "sore throat, cough, fever x3 days" chief complaint, other than the "cough, vomiting, fever x3days" variant. Such is life in the winter with children. Yuck. I was still relatively nervous around tiny babies (namely their hypervigilant parents) but got through it all. :) All in all, I loved my preceptors and the patients seemed to like me. yay!

On to Women's Health! The first day, I was to meet the doctor in the OR for a hysterectomy. I was shown the changing room, told to change into scrubs and the nurse educator would be with me soon to show me how to scrub. Well, I learned that the single time in December practicing scrubbing was certainly not sufficient because the nurse made me feel like a fool, "your arms should be higher... you haven't scrubbed that surface long enough.... no, now rinse..... you need more lather.... you suck at life." Well, the last bit may not have actually been said by her but by my subconscious mind - but it was just as clearly heard. I got to observe two abdominal hysterectomies that day. We went to a local outpatient surgical center to watch a D&C. Good lord, what brutality that is. Dear uterus: please stay healthy so as to avoid such torture. Thank you.

Off to the office! Yes, this is a rotation with several locations. Office, surgi-center, main OR and also the local free clinic. The office is fast and he has many patients. Annual PAPs, IUDs, Colposcopies, prenatal checks. For anyone who knows me, I am not a huge fan of babies and the process of growing one but it's super fun to find the heartbeat!

The next day was the first day I got to scrub in for a surgery; a vaginal hysterectomy. I was kind of nervous, because there was a larger than usual audience that day: some second-year med students from Tufts observing, in addition to the usual crowd. So, I was the lucky duck who got to assit. About 35 minutes or so into it, I noticed that I was getting the sweat moustache under my mask. "Ew, I am so hot and sweaty..." I think to myself... "Don't be silly, hold this retractor and shut up" said myself. Ehn. Well, it wasn't too much longer before I felt a bit of cold sweat, and my hearing and vision did the "snow on TV" thing. EEHH!!! So, I said very frankly, "I am afraid I am not feeling well and need to leave, I am sorry." Retractors down. Quickly moving to nearest stool. Embarrassing but it's that or fall on my head, getting concussed AND ruining the sterile field. Everyone was really nice, offered OJ, advice, etc. I was annoyed more than anything. I realize that this has happened to everyone when first starting out but I wanted to finish assisting! It was totally fun and awesome. Next time, Gadget.

To finish the week, I observed a C-section on a whale-like woman. Sorry to be insensitive but lordy.... we went back to the office for appointments. The most memorable being a consult with a 70ish woman who is using testosterone gel for her libido. She was a riot, telling me how, "my sex life had been great until my husband passed away... I masturbate often and with this gel, I feel sexy and I want intercourse and I think I have found a partner". Wow. Awesome. I could have gone my entire life without knowing that but hey... more power to you.
The week ended with an IUD insertion for a very sensitive patient. She made me feel so bad for her that I couldn't help but hold her hand and pat her knee while she winced and cringed. Ehhh... she appreciated my support.
That's that. I'm having fun and I definitely think I could spend my days helping my fellow women with the nasty, uncomfy, yet necessary things in life.