Week 10

This week was the first one back after our extended vacation of Paris and Spring break and boy it was rough. We were all exhausted from cramming as much as we could into break and from travel coming back then it was early day after early day right out the gate. Luckily those early days were for something interesting. We got to go to the Uniklinik and shadow anesthesiologists during surgeries. We got pretty spread around once we arrived but I went to the eyes, ears, nose and throat clinic. I got to watch a cochlear ear implant which was super cool. The surgeon was working with what to my untrained eye was just a sterile Dremel and a microscope to carve through the bone of the skull behind the ear. Bone which is way thicker than I thought. I also got to watch them intubate a conscious patient which was neat. They had to intubate him while he was conscious because he had a throat tumor and they needed to make sure they had him intubated before they put him under so he could keep breathing under his own power. The second they got it in position they knocked him out though which was impressive. I hadn’t realized a person could be put under so rapidly, but it was needed. I also talked at length with the anesthesiologist I was shadowing about her job and what it all entails. It was interesting stuff.