Friday, April 8, 2011
Don't Judge Oral Surgery by its Cover....
A couple of weeks ago I had a scheduled rotation in Oral Surgery at the hospital. I didn't know what to expect so I asked around to gain insight about what this particular rotation would be like. I was informed that I needed to prepare for the absolute worst. "The doctors are rude!"and "You won't have ANYTHING to do!" were the two most common responses that I received. This type of feedback immediately put me on edge about going to oral surgery and I even thought about asking faculty if I could just stay at our clinic where I knew how things were ran, but I knew in my mind that was NOT EVEN an option. That being said, 1:50pm came around and it was time to make my way to the hospital to get to oral surgery. When I arrived I told the women working at the front desk I was there on a rotation and she swiped me into the operatory area. Walking in, I was nervous and didn't know what to do. I didn't know who to talk to, therefore I just offered a loud hello to anyone that was willing to respond. All heads turned and replied "HELLO!". Not what I expected, but I was grateful nevertheless. I took the initiative to ask one of the residents exactly what was going to be happening that particular day and what I could do while there. He told me EVERYTHING that was happening. He even offered for me to help him with a procedure. Again, not what I was expecting, but I was grateful. After assisting him, he offered a kind thank you, and even gave me extra information about the procedure that had taken place. Once again, not what I was expecting. The rest of this rotation was fulled we doctors that were willing to let me assist them during procedures, nurses and assistants who were friendly, and knowledge about something that I may not have known beforehand. In all this rotation turned out to be one of my favorites. In a way I'm glad that I came in with my guards up, because they totally proved me wrong and it turned out to be a great experience.
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You got lucky! Both times that I have been on my oral surgery rotation I saw the same thing, extraction after extraction. It was fun to watch the first few times but then it just got old. Plus, I felt like the doctors were too busy or didn't care enough to explain what they were doing even when I asked. They would tell me to go get instruments for them like I was supposed to be at their beck and call and I didn't even get a thank you!! It upset me to see fellow dental professionals treating us that way. I have one more rotation there, hopefully it will be a much better experience!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had a good rotation! Unfortunately, I can't say that same for my oral surgery rotations. I think this is a good example that we can't take everything everyone says seriously. Everyone will have a different experience. Before going to oral surgery, I heard good things and I was excited to see something cool happen. We just have to learn that we need to make our own opinions about rotations and not let others influence our ideas about them.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely relate to your experience in oral surgery. This very first time I had this rotation I was very nervous. I stood around for a good 30 minutes before doing anything. Then I finally took the initiative to talk to one of the residents and find out exactly how it worked in oral surgery. He was very blunt but he words were very helpful. He explained that you time here is what you make it and you must take the initiative to be of assistance. The opportunity to help out may not always be offered and this can take away from your learning experience. This is a piece of advice I have taken dear to my heart and vowed to live by for the rest of my time her in the program. I would offer it to anyone of my peers. Each rotation, patient interaction, and other experience is what you make it. Never let what others say stop you from gaining making an experience you own.
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