Not quite like "Grey's Anatomy"

This past Thursday, instead of doing my regular rotation on the med-surg floor, I went to the OR to observe. Yes, OR does stand for the operating room; and yes, I was very excited. My fellow nursing students and I cautiously opened the door and entered into the completely unknown world that is the OR. It was somewhat like finding an entrance to a magical world through many fur coats in the back of an ancient wardrobe. Only there were no lions, fawns or white witches; just surgeons, nurses, and big pieces of equipment. And I could have actually used a fur coat because the average temperature in that place was 68 degrees!

I was introduced to a nurse who had the commanding presence of a surgeon, and following her into OR #1, I was briefed on the surgery and procedure that I was going to see in a few minutes. It was a total knee replacement on an older woman, and the doctor was going to put in a prosthetic knee. Did you know that putting in a prosthetic knee involves using saws to shave off a lot of bone? Yeah, me neither. But, it does and I loved it!!! I was standing right by the bedside, watching the surgeon expertly shave off bone, fit the prosthetic, and suture the patient together. I never felt like I was going to faint!!! YAY!!!

Surgery is an amazing thing. Doctors can cut you open and remove, replace, and add parts from/to your body while you are in a deep sleep trusting an anesthesiologist to bring you out of your slumber. God created us with very complex bodies, and these individuals have committed their lives to study its mysteries. I do not think I will enter surgical nursing anytime soon, just because the patient is out of it for most of the time you are with them; but I could definitely see myself having a blast there sometime in the future.