So my surgery rotation is coming up, and I wish I could tell you I had mixed feelings in a good way. In fact, there are no mixed feelings at all. I’ll say it plain and simple—I’m absolutely terrified. Growing up, I never pictured myself pursuing a career in surgery. The workload, long hours, and minimal patient interaction never really appealed to me. But of course, through the medical school journey, no matter what field you go into, you must complete a surgery rotation. To be frank, I’m quite scared it will be the worst rotation of third-year.
Keep in mind, I’m one of those people who is all rainbows, bubbles, and smiles aka everything warm and fuzzy. Surgery usually doesn’t have personalities with any of those things. So you can see why I might be nervous. I’m scared I can’t be myself because of what my evaluations or grades might be, and to top it all off, I’ll just be exhausted—all the time.
However, I will say that regardless of my fears, this will be a learning experience and worth making the best of because it’s 8 weeks of my life. This rotation will give me the opportunity to see things that I may never see again, and that’s a pretty neat thing. I’m trying to wire my brain to be more excited than fearful, but a little healthy stress and fear never hurt anyone, right? I also think this is a great rotation to teach one to have a bit of a backbone. After all, in the surgical field, you have to learn not to take things personally sometimes if you’re snapped at.
On that note, wish me luck as I start this demanding rotation—hopefully, I’ll see you on the other side in February! #riseandgrind #medschoollife
