Orthopedics posting

So i just finished my orthopedics posting in HTJS about a month ago. so this is a really long overdue post. i'll try really hard to describe in words how i feel about the whole thing aite. before this whole thing started, i asked God to guide me and show me things i don't know (like how i do before any other posting) but i had a feeling that this posting will be somewhat different. maybe its because of my interest in bones even before medical school which only Evelyn, Anushinee and Dr Brian knows.

I realized that i like what i studied and what i saw in the wards. but things took an even more interesting turn.

When it was my turn to go to the operation theatre (OT) with Kova and Eunice, Eunice and Kova went to the major OT as Kova clerked the patient and Eunice has already seen a vacuum dressing in the minor OT. so i asked her to go to the major OT instead cause who doesn't wanna see a cool procedure going on right? i was a bit dissappointed inside as i wanted to enter the major OT too and watch a cool procedure. but God sees what i need, not what i want. He had a present in mind for me. as i introduced myself to the surgeon, the surgeon said, ''Today, you will learn how to scrub''. so the sister (head nurse) taught me how to scrub in and scrub out of surgery. and so i assisted him with 3 procedures before i have to go for class. Kova and Eunice joined in and watch the last one. 

when i finished scrubbing, or at least when i thought i finished scrubbing, i joined him. he asked, ''have you finished scrubbing?'' i nodded and he said, ''No. you have one more step''. i looked at him puzzled and was wondering what i forgot. he then said, ''dance with me''. i was so shocked! and even more puzzled. apparently, i forgot to tighten my gown. and tightening the gown involves me holding one end of the knot and spinning one round. so he held one end of my gown and helped me tightened the gown after i spinned. the feeling is indescribable! i feel so happy even before the surgery began. 

Throughout the surgery, the surgeon, Dr Hamzah taught me a lot. like how to grade a pressure sore, how to remove vacuum dressing etc. since he was so friendly, i asked which ward he is in with the intention of following him during ward rounds. he said 'peri' which i didn't understand the first time around. he was then talking about something else then i said, ''you didn't answer my question. which ward are you in?'' he was so fascinated at my audacity. hahhahah! and he said, no medical student has ever talked to him like that. i was so scared i'd get thrown out of the OT, but i didn't. in fact, he kept wanting to get to know me. which i felt was a bit weird as i'm not comfortable revealing so many things about myself to a complete stranger. i don't even know how he looked like as he had a mask and cap on. 

the second surgery is a wound debridement of a grade IV sacral sore and grade II trochanteric sore. after he taught me about pressure sores, he said 'Jom!' like we are a team and he went on to cut the edges of the wound. the way he circumferentially remove tissue was beautiful. he was so sleek, skilled and so relaxed. its part of his personality i guess. cause not all surgeons are like that. the way he did it was just beautiful. i looked at him at awe. 

after the second operation, he asked if i would like to go out for lunch. not in a formal, suggestive way. but in a casual way. i gently declined as i have classes later on. hahahh! i'm suprised at how chilled these surgeons are. 

Since then, i love the OT and i go there all the time. during lunch breaks, after class, any free time i get till the sister there knows me already. 

the next week, i saw Mr Naik eating with one of my friends and so me and 2 other friends joined them. so Mr Naik found out that i like orthopedics and i want to specialize in orthopedics next time. so he offered me to scrub in on his OT day next tuesday. i quickly grabbed the opportunity. and so on monday the next week, i clerked his patient who was scheduled for a dynamic hip screw (DHS) for an intertrochanteric fracture. i was so thrilled to be given the opportunity to assist. he asked if i scrubbed in before as implant surgeries have a high risk of infections. so i said yes, i did. with Dr Hamzah in the minor OT. so he said okay. go read up about the surgery. 

it was then that i found out the MO assisting that surgery was Dr Hamzah! I nearly cried! God really loves me that he sent someone i'm familiar with to standby me as this is my first time scrubbing in on a major surgery. 

During the DHS, Mr Naik taught me some basic rules about where to keep my hands, and how to move in the OT, he let me thread the bone through the cortices and also put in a screw on the plate. these kind of experiences are so rare that i can't believe its happening to me. although i did get into some trouble with the MA outside the OT but Dr Hamzah was there to make sure i was okay. really glad he was there. things would have been really bad if he wasn't there. after the procedure was over, even the surgical nurses said, Mr Naik memang sayang korang (referring to me and Dr Michelle as she was the one who ended up performing the surgery). That feeling of gratefulness to both Mr Naik for the opportunity and also Dr Hamzah who halfway dropped by to check on me :) 

Mr Naik closed the opportunity for medical students to scrub in for implant surgeries after that. and its not cause i did something wrong (i've clarified this with him). so even he said i basically got an opportunity of a lifetime. and i agree that i would not get this opportunity anywhere else or ever again as a medical student. truly grateful 

I think i like orthopedics because the language of the bones is beautiful. also the people are nice. and Mr Naik always said, ortho people are nice everywhere. doesn't matter which hospital you go to. and i agree. i got the chance to meet the ortho team in HKL even. and the surgeons are so nice! they introduced me to the patient and their families and present cases to me (it should be the other way round) and quizzed me on a few things. 

I'm glad that the 4 weeks of orthopedics posting ended with me knowing something about the bones and also generated my interest in orthopedics. i have not been happier in my entire medical school life. quoted by Vish. and i think he is right.