Week 2 Plastic Surgery Center of Hampton Roads

This week I felt like I was starting to get the hang of things better around the office. Because I am more comfortable with the medical staff at the office now, I am able to contribute to the team more. The nurses are assigning me more responsibilities in regards to preparing the operating room before the patient comes in and helping transfer the patient to recovery after the operation. Now that I have seen close to 30 operations with this surgery center, I am better able to predict how the operating room will need to be set up for each patient. While the surgeon is the first in charge during the operation, the anesthesiologist, technician, and nurses all work together to setup the operating room for the surgeon before he comes in. After each surgery, I help by bringing the bed into the operating room allowing the medical team to transfer the patient to the bed that can be rolled into the recovery room. while little tasks such as this can at times seem like a minor contribution, I feel that as the team gets more comfortable with me and vice versa, I will be taking on bigger responsibilities. This upcoming week I will be spending at least one day in the recovery room with the nurses. I am excited to see how the recovery room is run and where I can contribute and help out. Because I do not yet have a medical license there are many restrictions on what I am able to do in terms of patient contact. Keeping this in mind, I hope that by the end of the summer, the team will have enough trust in me to allow me the maximum patient contact that is allowed.