Learning a new Doctor…

You guys, I’m sure you all know how nerve-wracking & scary it can be to learn a new doctor! Last week we got a new ophthalmologist – Dr. P. We hadn’t even met him yet and we were starting his cases! Thankfully, he is super nice & patient! We had no clue how to set his things up. We had a picture & instructions from a photo but it was still a huge struggle! It took us an hour before we could even start & then we still didn’t have the right stuff… we ended up only doing one and canceling the rest! Also, instead of the preloaded lenses we are used to, he has very expensive (patient paid) lenses, that we have to manually load!

On Monday I had to do 2 more cataracts with Dr. P. & it went better. It’s just so different than what we’re used to with Dr. H. We are used to doing 17 cataracts in one day or 6 in the afternoon. Dr. H. is VERY quick! He also has way fewer instruments… so it’s a huge adjustment to a new doctor with a different way & a lot more instrumentation to figure out in a short period of time! AND I’m the first to do his cases…

Cataracts – Updated

Cataracts are very fast & were hard to keep up with for me when I first started scrubbing them. My brain takes extra time to process & learn everything. But once I got the hang of it I have really enjoyed scrubbing them. We do up to 18 in a day. But you know what to expect & you pretty much do the same thing over & over again. It can actually be pretty quiet & peaceful.

Week 16 & 17 as a CST

I’ve been so busy! I’ve been on my own for the most part. I’m so close to being off orientation. October 20th is my 4-month milestone. CRAZY!

Here is what I’ve been up to:

Clinical. Week 2. Semester 5.

This week we had 3 days of clinical since our instructor had a meeting & we did not have class on Monday. It was a long week, but I got a lot of cases done & was able to finish out 5 of my specialties for 1st scrub. I only have a handful of cases left until I’m to my 120 cases goal.

It’s crazy how time flies. It feels like we just started our clinicals and now we are almost done! We are more familiar with our surgeons and the cases and we are setting up and scrubbing by ourselves…

Clinical. Week 9. Semester 4.

This week I was able to go back to my original clinical site! It wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be though. And maybe that’s just because I ended up in Urology! LOL.

Clinical. Week 6. Semester 4.

It’s been quite the week. Day 1 I started at my 1st clinical site & day 2 I switched clinical locations. I feel like I got comfortable & was in the zone & doing awesome & building more & more confidence & then BAM! I just have to remind myself that I got this & I have to adapt & overcome! I will not let this get me down. I will keep going & prove to myself that this will only make me stronger & better. 🙏🙌

Clinical. Week 5. Semester 4.

Now that I’ve finished my Uro cases, I have been able to start on OB and Eyes!
I also started my binder for all of my cases. I research each case the night before and print out anything I can on it & put it in my binder. Then once the procedure is over, and I have time, I update it to fit our facility and surgeons and how we would do the procedure. While we are on a break I can also sit and study my cases.
I also started taking photos of something else I hadn’t thought to take photos of…

Clinical. Week 1. Part 1.

My first day of clinicals is tomorrow!!! I may or may not be freaking out a little bit. I’m super excited, but I’m also super nervous!! I cannot wait to try out my O.R. shoes & see how they do. Anyways, I contacted my preceptor & got both good & bad news…