My surgery rotation had the most harsh hours. We were expected to come in early at 5:30 and we got to leave at around 5:30. What made these hours even more harsh was the fact that any type of commute will elongate these hours. I remember there were many days where I would sleep at 7 PM from the exhaustion of that day and having to get up early. Depending on the hospitals policy, you might also have to work 24 hour shifts. During that time, do not expect to sleep much. You will most likely be on trauma call and your shift will easily extend to 8ish by the time you leave the hospital because most times you will have to round with the team before.
On the positive end, you will see some of the coolest things in surgery. From emergent surgeries to elective surgeries to traumas, each surgery is unique and fun to watch. You might never get the chance to witness surgery ever again depending on your speciality so I would take this time to really explore the field and enjoy your time.
Here are some tips for your surgery rotation:
1) Always read up on the patient before. Know what surgery you're doing and why you're doing it. I would recommend watching the OME videos on the specific surgery you will be attending because he briefly goes over some pimping questions. You don't need to go into the details but I would at least know the basics. It is inevitable that you will get pimped and might get yelled at but you have to realize that it is a high stressful environment and you have to just move on and not let it get to you.
2) If you are someone that needs food or you get lightheaded, I recommend always having granola bars or water. You can quickly eat and drink something before a surgery but I would recommend keeping it light so your stomach does not hurt.
3) Be proficient in scrubbing in and learn how to gown yourself. There will be many situations where no one will help you gown so I would recommend learning or watching videos soon the proper way to gown yourself. As for scrubbing in, I recommend scrubbing in before your surgery and then using the alcohol scrub in right before the surgery depending on your hospitals protocol. The alcohol scrub will evaporate quickly so you will not have to go through the struggle of drying yourself.
4) Always show up to the operating room early. Introduce yourself to the scrub tech and ask if you should get your own gown and gloves. Never expect that they will do it for you. After, ask the nurses in the room if they need any help. Scrub nurses/techs can be your best friends if you are polite with them.
5) Do what you are told in the surgery. There will be a lot of awkward physical positions you might have to hold the clamper in or you might get tired but do what you are told and do not complain. We are there to learn and observe, not perform the actual surgery.
6) You might have a LOT of downtime in between surgeries so utilize that time to study instead of waiting to go home to study. I used OME, Anki, and UWorld to study. You should use whatever helps you most.
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