I saw an open heart surgery!

[Joanne]

CRAZIEST THING EVER!!

I did a nurses' work visit at St Paul's in the operating room. it was fucking weird. I see this guy... normal, living, breathing guy, put to a table, have tubes put inside him, put to sleep and later just cut through.

one big incision through the chest. I see all this blood coming out. I start to giggle because I always giggle the initial sight of blood. the doctor breaks the sternum and I see some tissue and fat. he cuts some more and uses an instrument to open up the chest.. and there I see it! living, breathing heart and lungs. he was a smoker and so his lungs were black. it was disgusting, and I am never smoking EVER. an incision was also made along his leg to remove a saphenous vein that could be later grafted onto his mammary vein.

it's just so cool seeing it up close and personal. way better than any television show. the doctor was really nice too.. he was showing the different parts of the heart and answered all the questions I asked. it just totally amazed me how delicate the heart was and how all these workers (nurses, doctors, anaesthesiologist, respiratory therapist, etc) could determine this individual's life or death.

I never thought in my first semester of nursing, that I would be able to witness an open heart surgery! the other people in my nursing term were jealous :)

--Joanne :P

[sweet~kandy]

What! Thats nuts, I dont think I would be able to do that...

[diva]

Were you the only nursing student allowed in the operating room? We didn't get to do anything like that in first year. =/

Yesterday was my first real day at my clinical placement. I'm on a surgical ward, so I got to see a lot of rad stuff. It was a lot more hands on than I thought it would be. I had to tell one of the nurses that I wasn't allowed to remove catheters yet.

I wish we had an OR rotation...what would be rad.
I'm pretty excited for my pediatrics and maternity rotations next term!

We each get our own patient next week!
I hope I don't kill anybody.
:kam:

[Joanne]

Originally posted by diva
Were you the only nursing student allowed in the operating room? We didn't get to do anything like that in first year. =/

Yesterday was my first real day at my clinical placement. I'm on a surgical ward, so I got to see a lot of rad stuff. It was a lot more hands on than I thought it would be. I had to tell one of the nurses that I wasn't allowed to remove catheters yet.

I wish we had an OR rotation...what would be rad.
I'm pretty excited for my pediatrics and maternity rotations next term!

We each get our own patient next week!
I hope I don't kill anybody.
:kam:

I wasn't the only one in the operating room, but I was the only one who got to see the coronary bypass surgery. the other girl in the OR got to see some hemorrhoid surgery and an open kneecap surgery.

wow, it must be awesome to finally be at your clinical placement. mine won't start until this summer (it should be maternity!). we haven't done too many cool stuff in my nursing lab. so far, we've only learned about medical asepsis and taking temperature/pulse/respiration. next week will be blood pressure.

but yeah, keep me posted on how you're doing esi! next week is going to be craaazy for me. 3 exams and a big group project... :soak:

--Joanne :P

[Erica]

oh my goodness. good on you. i would NEVER be able to watch something like that.

[diva]

I watched a woman get about five feet of bloody gauze pulled out of her vagina! She'd had an operation to tighten her vaginal wall and bladder muscles. That's what happens after having seven kids.

Sooo cool!

[Kelster]

sweet stuff

joanne, do you go to langara?

I have this weird sensation that comes over me when i see hearts pumping, or just a heart in general. Probably because I have a heart murmer and have heart attacks in my family and am afraid of dying of that one day so when i see that...i get all ansty and nervous.

I don't think i could do that.

[vesperstina]

I'm sitting next to a guy that had open heart surgery!

WOW.

[Joanne]

Originally posted by Kelster
sweet stuff

joanne, do you go to langara?

yup!

--Joanne :P

[junglequeen]

wow that must be so much better than the tv version
im seriously jelous

[Partizan]

damn thats fucking intense

i would have liked to see that but i dont think i would giggle..

after some of the shit ive seen in war... fuck.. bad memories

[Kelster]

Originally posted by bananasinpjs


yup!

--Joanne :P

haha i guess that was you i saw on monday!

[zarlon]

That's awesome... I don't know if I would be able to handle it or not.

I wonder if MY lungs are black.

[kiMMie]

WOW Joanne. You totally lucked out. Good show, eh? There's a part of you that feels sick, but this enormous part that makes you speechless. I probably know exactly how you felt. Hehe.

Didn't know we had two other promising nurses on the site! Welcome :kimmie: and good luck with the books.