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4/15/21 - Post #4
My life can definitely be a little hectic - in the best way! I like being busy and taking advantage of the city of Boston and campus. Here is a peak into 2 day in my life, one working on a Friday and one relaxing on a Sunday.
Friday April 9th, 2021
I wake up at 6:45am, and take about 45 minutes to actually get up, eat breakfast (today it was a bagel that I had got from the Boston Public Market with an apple), get dressed in my scrubs, pack my lunch, and drink some tea (an everyday necessity). I go catch the green line at around 7:30am from the Northeastern Stop, and ride for about 11 minutes to Park St. A fun fact - Park St. was the first stop on the T, ever!
At Park St., I transfer to the Red Line heading to Braintree, at around 7:43. I ride for a couple stops, going above ground and getting to see the beautiful view of the Quincy Bay. The train is usually quiet and I listen to music or a podcast (my favorite is The Cold Case Files), and I can talk with my fellow co-op student that I meet before getting on the train.
We get off at Quincy Center, and take a 5 minute bus to our destination - South Shore Oral Surgery. Once we get in, we change into our work shoes, throw on a scrub jacket and cap, and mask up with a N95 and a medical mask. We head downstairs and check the schedule - busy today with lots of wisdom teeth coming out, implants being put in, and more. We start setting up the instrument trays with the local anesthetic, elevators, forceps, and gauze. We also spike the IV bags, draw up the medication used for general anesthesia, pull up the x-rays, and confirm the plan with the oral surgeon.
After this, we go get the patient and go over health history, medication usage, have them sign the consent form, ask if they had followed pre-op instructions, and making sure we are all on the same page for the procedure. Once we are ready, I help the oral surgeon place the IV and administer the medications to make the patient go to sleep. Once the patient is asleep, we start the procedure, and I either suction in the mouth or pass instruments. We work closely with each other, and there is usually 5 people in the room - the patient, the oral surgeon, the suction-er, the passer, and the anesthetist. Sometimes we need more, especially if it is a tough sedation and/or procedure.
Once the procedure has been successfully completed, we wake the patient up and get them to our recovery suite, and clean the room. Then we repeat the process with the next procedure! We can get 3-6 done every morning. If I had down time, I wash/sterilize the dirty instruments, stock the rooms, or assist in other ways.
At around 12:00-12:30pm, I get to go to lunch. I usually sit with the other co-op student and we watch something together on Netflix (we have been loving the show "The Circle") or just talk.
At 1:00-1:15pm, we head back down. In the afternoon, we usually do only consultations and local procedures. We bring the patient in, go over health history, send prescriptions to pharmacies as needed, take radiographs as needed, and set a treatment plan in place. We work as a team to make this process efficient but it can definitely get a little chaotic when it is busy!
Once our consults are done, we take out the trash, do excess cleaning, and help others out. We catch the 4:10pm bus back to Quincy Centre, and make our way onto the Red Line and the Green Line.
I spend the evening relaxing, making dinner and lunch for the next day, catching up on emails/school, and getting ready for the next day!
Sunday April 18th
Today is a STUNNING day - temperatures in the 75 F/25 C. I have plans with my friend (who I met freshman year) to go get sushi and hang out by the Charles River. Before seeing her, I walk to Newbury St. with my partner to send my taxes, and go to TJMaxx - I find an amazing bed quilt for my bed which is great because I am mving soon! We also get ice cream from Emack and Bolio's which has been around since 1975. I get the lemon, which wasn't the best - I should have gone with my favorite vanilla. I walk back to campus and get tested, and by then my friend and I are ready to get our sushi.
We get it from my favorite place, Go Fish Sushi Symphony. I get the go fish combo with sweet potato roll and avocado salmon roll, with a miso soup. We then take the 1 bus to Beacon St. and walk down the river together. We love seeing all the dogs and even get to pet some, and take in the sight of the blossom trees... blossoming.
We find a good spot to sit, and set out our blanket. We eat, talk, and even take a little nap in the sun - it just felt so nice to lay there in the warmth! We talk about the scenery, the houses around us, classes, and more. After a couple hours, we head over the bridge and walk down Commonwealth Ave. to see more blossom trees. We loop around back to Trader Joes and I get some TJ staples - dark chocolate peanut butter cups, unexpected cheddar cheese, and tea. I get back at around 6:30 and made some dark chocolate cookies, and have that for a snack since I'm not hungry enough for dinner. I spend the rest of the evening doing my laundry and getting ready for work the next day while catching up with my parents.
I hope you liked seeing what a day in my life might look like!
Until next time,
Marcie :)