4 Bad and 4 Good Things This Week
The thing about being a student nurse anesthetist is that if you’re not careful, if you’re not paying attention, you start to mistakenly think your life sucks. The days all start blending together — leaving the house early when it’s dark, and coming back home when it’s dark. Within hospital OR walls, you don’t know and it doesn’t matter what the weather is outside or what happened in the news. And on your days off, your immediate worry is whether you have enough time and energy to get things done (studying, going to the supermarket, washing all your tupperware and thermoses from this week to prepare for the next).
ANYWAY, that was just a long winded way of saying SRNA life can make you kind of egotistical and depressed, thinking that all that matters is YOU and HOW TIRED you are and HOW MUCH WORK you have to do and NOTHING MATTERS BECAUSE ALL LIFE IS SUFFERING
Which obviously is wrong, because life as a young, healthy, able bodied human is amazing. I’m reminded of this every time I eat in the hospital cafeteria, because the other people sitting there are most likely the family and friends of patients in the hospital. And they’re worried about their loved ones, stressed, scared of uncertainty, and eating weird hospital food.
So, I’m starting something called “4 Bad and 4 Good Things This Week” in an attempt to (1) validate and then let go of shitty things that occur during SRNA training, and (2) highlight funny or good things that happen, lest they get lost in all the drudgery. And maybe, if anyone out there is reading this, it’ll provide an honest peek into SRNA life
4 Bad Things This Week
On my last day at my previous rotation, not only was my CRNA kind of weird, but the CRNA kept me later than usual — and for a really asinine reason. The patient was extubated, the case was over… but because PACU was having shift change, we had to wait idly in the OR. It took my CRNA 15 whole minutes before realizing this was not a good reason to keep a student late on their last day.
I’ve had really bad GERD the past few days. This happens before the start of every new rotation. I have major anxiety over having to learn so many new things, AGAIN: a new commute, hospital, Pyxis, drug vials/concentrations, supplies, codes to the locker room / anesthesia workroom / lounge, workflow, staff, culture, charting practices, wasting practices, etc. The first couple weeks are always rough. (I like to think by the end the rotations I’m like Salt Bae with my anesthesia though…jk)
I’m getting dermatitis on my cheeks and nose bridge from the OR masks. It’s very itchy, and my skin is starting to flake. Lovely
I always wear the same Lululemon jogger pants to the hospital. And theyre getting kind of tight around the waist. Uh oh.
4 Good Things This Week
I got wear my Hermes loafers into the OR again. This’ll be the second time that I’m unexpectedly put into the OR when I’m dressed in buiz cash. Well, at least I’m getting my money’s worth out of those puppies.
One of the best things I heard recently was that an OR nurse was being a douche and yelled at my friend for being too slow (preparing the anesthetic drugs/airways for the next case). In the OR, the relationship between OR nurses and anesthesia can either be collaborative or they can be antagonistic. On this day, it was antagonistic. She stated she was “writing him up for delaying room turnover”… So he replied, “OK, so does that mean I might as well take as long as I want, since you’re writing me up anyways?” Lol
On my last week at my previous hospital, I got to work with my dream team — my favorite OR nurse + one of my favorite CRNAs. We had boba delivered to the hospital in between cases. Good times were had. And the anesthesia tech brought me my favorite childhood snack: Cheeto Puffs !
One of my interests is behavioral psychology and how it affects productivity and habits. I mention this in the About Me section of this website, but so far all I’ve ever blogged about is SRNA life… oops. Well, this week I ran across a Google Talks video where a neuroscientist discusses how neurophysiology affects our habits and routines. Look, I’ve consumed a lot of content on this topic, so believe me when I say I’ve never met any one else who can discuss such topics with such clarity and ease. It makes you immediately want to start applying what you learned and improving yourself. Here’s the link to the video if you want to listen to it while cooking or walking or whatever! Habits, Behaviors, & Change