A Bloody Mess Called Surgery

It was a pretty routine surgery. It was me, my partner, and Prof Gorey who scrubbed in on the case. The first incision was made. 4cm across the crease of the neck. My eyes were fixed on the patient. I have recurring nightmares where the patient jumps out screaming in pain. Thankfully the anaesthetist was in top form.

I have a fear of blood. Correction. I have a fear of squirting blood.

The patient's thyroid was enlarged and overly vascular. Prof Gorey wasn't too happy. It wasn't going to be as routine as expected. Blood vessels were enlarged, and in places where it shouldn't be.

A quarter of an hour into the surgery, my partner looked quesy. I knew what was coming next.

“Professor, I think I'm going to faint,”

Immediately she was taken off the case. It was only me and the Professor.

An hour into surgery, the first bleeder 'erupted'. As the Prof was exposing the platysma, he hit a bood vessel. The vessel squirted out blood which sprayed all over my gown.

Then he hit another one. This time I had to hold the suction to clear the area so he could cauterize the bleed.

Blood was squirting all over the place.

“Not as elegant as I hoped it would be,” said Prof Gorey.

Surprisingly, I did not even remember that I had a fear of blood. Maybe it was the adrenaline.

The C-section

Dermott had just finished giving us a tutorial on the gastrointestinal system.

“Which one of yous would be disappointed if yous got a C grade?” he asked.

Few familiar faces raised their hands. Hermione included.

I resisted the tempation and looked to see what the point to this was.

“This isn't secondary school. Most of of yous are used to being on top in class,”

At this point my eyes were on Hermione.

“Well wake up. The days of getting straight A's are over,”

“A person who can answer all the questions without making a single mistake would qualify for a B,”

“A 'C' grade is what most of you will get. And that would qualify you for an honours grade in your final degree. So suck it up and accept that you are no longer in your small town competing with a bunch of duds. You're in the big leagues now,”

He was right. As of now, the elusive 'A' seems like a far cry from the days of high school back home. Clinical years have a totally different assesment system in where a passing is already a huge achievement.

“The most important thing is to GET THROUGH your exams, and become a doctor!”

He was brutally honest wasn't he?