A few weeks ago, I made a post sharing what a 24-hour shift in the surgery department in Havana was like. I’ve finished the rotation, so here’s what I took away from it.
Surgery
From the moment I entered, it was clear that I wouldn’t enjoy it.
In fact, a doctor very close to my family (a surgeon) saw me and immediately told me I was going down a different path than he did—sharp eye, I suppose (I had to agree as soon as I started the program).
For 7 weeks, we were in the General Surgery department at one of the main hospitals in Havana, Manuel Fajardo.
During that time, I did 8 24-hour shifts, every 6 days, with evaluated seminars at each one.
The only good thing was that I didn’t have to work on December 24 or December 31. Not because of family gatherings, but because those are the most complicated shifts of the year. So, that’s a point in my favor.
I can’t even tell you how many hours I studied; I lost track of time. To the point that I felt burnt out, or something very close to it.
By the end of the rotation, I had already lost my motivation.
Time was not on my side. Whenever I had a moment, I reviewed literature to keep from falling behind. I spent more time in the hospital than at home. Tough times.
Clearly, what I needed was a weekend getaway (but that’s another post).
Lessons Learned
When the abdomen hurts, run.
During the rotation, we had to intervene in several abdominal cases because patients self-medicated to alleviate pain and hoped it would just go away. It didn’t always happen, and they arrived with quite complicated conditions.
Patience (especially at night)
At 10 PM, the parade of homeless people began in the hospital. Some just greeted us, but others had clearly been consumed by the streets.
December 27, 2024. 11:00 PM
We had propped the consultation door open to take a little break.
According to protocol, every patient entering the emergency room must see the specialists in Internal Medicine before reaching the General Surgery consultation.
This gentleman didn’t want to wait for anyone and decided to burst through our door.
The wake-up call we got was not the best.
Once awake, along with my colleagues, we attended to him with the best face possible.
“What’s your name?"
“If I can’t remember what I ate, how am I supposed to remember my name? Just call me Mr. H.” (en español nos dijo , ponme Señor Vagabundo)
“OK, Mr. H. Why are you here?”
“Because I have a snake moving in my stomach; get it out now! I can’t take it anymore, or I’ll cut it out myself.”
WTF!?
A snake? We all looked at each other, and no one responded (I don’t know if it was due to sleepiness or the incredibility of the situation)
I took the initiative and told Mr. H that to get it out, we needed to go to the suturing room because the snake looked very large.
Once he lay down, we gave him a sedative (so the snake would stay still and he could rest).
We didn’t do anything; we just let him sleep and hydrated him a bit.
The next morning... Mr. H woke up before we did! He woke us up in his peculiar way.
“The snake is gone!!!”
It felt like we had won the World Cup, but no! We had just gotten rid of Mr. H.
In this rotation, patience is everything. The shift hours are tough, and working in surgery is hard.
We didn’t have the instruments or accessories to carry out treatments or sutures. We had to innovate.
Still...
1 in 3 patients in emergency services worldwide are treated for acute appendicitis (a very common condition). According to internal hospital statistics, we had more than one patient with gastrointestinal bleeding (which requires constant vital sign monitoring every 15 minutes).
Meanwhile, the patients didn’t stop coming. It was quite an intense environment, but it didn’t compare to the end of the Internal Medicine internship, but we’ll get there.
Despite everything, the rotation was quite calm.
The content, although extensive, was very well explained by my attending physicians. The rotation surprised me and I liked it (something I wouldn’t have said seven weeks ago).
In the fourth year, I didn’t have a very good experience. I spent more time at home than in the hospital, so it was impossible. Now I can say I liked it a bit more than in the fourth year.
Next step: Gynecology and Obstetrics (no comments).
Now it’s your turn... Have you done any rotations? Any scars you want to share the origin of? It doesn’t matter what it is; I’d love to read your comments down below.
Related post:How is the internship?
Read you soon!
[dahpilot]
Images in this post are my own
No, I have not done any rotations. The most I have had to do is accompany patients to the emergency room and follow them from outside the hospital.
I hope you are well, best regards, @@@dahpilot.
It's always a pleasure to read you, my friend.
I haven't had much time for anything, but I've been following your walks around Madrid.
As for the hospital, it's always better to be a companion than a patient, that's for sure, but it's never good news to go there
No, it's not good news to end up in an emergency room.
A big hug, and thanks for joining me in Madrid, @dahpilot.
Hellooo I am from Venezuela and I am also a medical student. Many successes I know how exhausting and sacrificing the medical career can be 🫶🏻✨
Hellooo, it’s always a pleasure to meet colleagues around here.
Thank you for reading me and especially for understanding me; it’s not easy, but when it’s done with love, it’s all worth it.
Btw, you’ve gained a follower over here!
Have a nice day , Doc! 👩🏼⚕️
Es bastante complicada la atención hospitalaria, admiro su labor. Mucha fuerza y paciencia.
Gracias por sus buenos deseos. Mucha vocación, solo eso 😁
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