i absolutely love my job. i am the or coordinating nurse at southlake plastic surgery. i pre-op patients, circulate, scrub, occasionally recover, and see post-op appointments. one might ask what these different roles entail! as i type, i am circulating. this means i grab things needed for the surgery and open them using a certain technique so that the object remains sterile. if they don't need anything, i get to cruise the internet on my laptop! usually i am busy ordering supplies for the OR, checking my e-mail, etc. like just now, i had to stop typing to get the breast tissue we just dissected off our patient. i weighed it and told the physician '507 grams.' we are doing a breast reduction, so my measurements are actually important! he wants to be fairly close bilaterally with the breast tissue weights. i also send off the tissue to a lab to have it tested for cancer. i do all of the documentation for the surgery, and before the surgery starts, i make sure the patient is prepped with iodine, her SCDs are on and running (keep blood pumping in the calves throughout surgery), and she is positioned correctly on the table.
when i scrub, i am in on the surgery. i'm 'sterile,' so i can't touch anything unless it is sterile, also. this means no scratching, adjusting, or anything, for the duration of surgery! scrubbing is challenging, but i think it's fun. nursing school has more of a focus on circulating, so when i scrub, i enjoy learning new things. dr. mason is very patient, so that certainly helps.
i'm grateful i am using my degree to do something that i find enjoyable, rewarding, and intellectually stimulating. this breast reduction will significantly reduce my patient's back pain and increase her self-esteem. i'm lucky to get paid for this!
www.southlakeplasticsurgery.com
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