Choose your own adventure

This one is for the surg tech students out there.

When I started my surg tech journey, I had a vision of what my surgical life would be like. I would work at the big hospital downtown. My days would be spent scrubbing big, life-altering cardiac cases: replacing heart valves, repairing aortic aneurysms, etc. The OR would be tense, but with my close-knit cardiac team we’d weather the storms of our high-acuity patients. Each day we’d leave the OR and, like heparin coursing through a vein, we’d flush all of the tension of the day from our minds and bodies with knowledge of a job well done.

During clinicals, I found that my dream was anything but. I despised the tedious dissection of vascular cases. Handling 7-0, 8-0, and 9-0 suture needles felt like my own private circle of hell. The anonymity of the large hospital felt empty and impersonal. The sheer volume of equipment for cardiac cases made my brain feel like it had been submerged in the heart room’s slush machine overnight. In short, the reality of my dream was more like a nightmare.

As I worked my way through school exploring different hospitals and specialties, a new picture started to emerge. A new dream took shape. I adored the atmosphere of the smaller hospitals. They were like a family and embraced me almost immediately. I fell in love with orthopedics: the up-beat attitudes of the surgeons, the vibration of the recip saw in my hand, the ringing sound of a mallet hitting a broach handle. These things made me feel happy and fulfilled. Meanwhile, my classmates would return to class with similar stories. Some found fulfillment delivery babies. Others waxed poetic about the joys of adenoids, hemorrhoids, or sphenoids. Certain folks lamented leaving the mega-hospital atmosphere and some (like myself) couldn’t wait to leave.

The point of the story is: when you start clinicals, you may not know what you want to do or where you want to do it. You might go into your rotations thinking you’ve got it all figured out. Either way, it’s totally cool. Clinical rotations are a time to try new things, find your niche, and build the foundation to live your dream after graduation. Give specialties a chance-I sucked horribly at ortho when I started, but I loved it so much that I stuck with it until my skill caught up with my enthusiasm. Give people a chance-sometimes the surgeon or preceptor you dread working with is the one that will teach you the most. Give yourself some slack-Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is your future. Take the time and thoughtfulness to find your dream. Remember: if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. Choose your own adventure and love every minute of it.

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