Curiosity killed the cat

I had a coach that used to say to me you don't know what you don't know! Sounds stupid right? haha. However, there is some truth and meaning behind that.  As a student, I feel like I should know everything or atleast act like I know what I'm doing. There's no use stressing out about what you don't know.  I think what makes people and conversations interesting is the fact that they might know something that you don't. The world would be boring if we knew everything or if you had a conversation with someone who acted like they knew everything!  Today, I got myself in a mess over my curiosity.

It was surgery day. I went to change into my scrubs and reported to the nurses station to check in my stuff.  The nurse told me I was only allowed in rooms 11,13, and 16.  Those rooms were the shoulder surgeries, which are more beneficial for OT's to see. I was a little irritated with the shoulder surgery because I couldn't see over 20 med students and MD's. So, I got sketchy and went back to the nurses station to see if any other cool stuff was going on.  I hit gold!  There was a total knee replacement and a craniectomy to remove a brain tumor on the schedule. I knew this would be my only chance to see those. So, I went for it and snuck in.  I first went into the craniectomy and made it just in time to see the surgeon remove the brain tumor. I will no longer eat peanuts again! So, I left and went to the total knee surgery.  This time my curiosity got me in real trouble.  I was the only student and so the MD's kept me on top of what was going on.  I couldn't leave.

I still have trouble with my knee.  I tore my ACL and lateral meniscus in college and I don't believe there is anything that could make me more sick than the injury, surgery, and rehab. So, here I am in a knee operating room and my stomach is already turning. What do you think about those scary movies like Saw, Cannibal, etc.? Gross right?  They ain't got nothing on a total knee replacement.  First there is the smell of burnt tissue from the torch to rid of scar, etc.  Then, there's a medical saw that cuts your bones all the way through.  They take medal plates and hammer the plates with screws on the bone.  Basically, there was blood and bone flying in the air through most of the surgery.  The sounds and the impact reminded me of my dad hammering a stake in the ground.  So, thats why all the surgeons had on astronaut looking suits on.  They were covered with blood and bone.  I kept thinking about my knee and thinking about that poor patient! And how curiosity got me a front row seat to all this.

After 5 surgeries and the total knee that topped it off, I came home to shower what probably was chips of bone in my hair.  Then I got sick..seriously! Curiosity killed the cat for sure. Then, that saying "What you don't know, you don't know." came to my mind and I'll remember next time that maybe we should leave some things we are curious about to our imagination.  Its more fun that way!



 

Job satisfaction

When you fill out your job surveys at your annual meeting what are your thoughts? There is not one person that can say they had an amazing day at work 110% of the time.  We all wish we could be movie stars, professional athletes, or rockstars.  So, lets get real and quit day dreaming because the real satisfaction doesn't lie on what we see as the greener side of the fence.

We see the fate of most celebrities. That usually happens because they get caught up in themselves with money, drugs, and all that other glittery stuff. So think about it, what gives you complete satisfaction at the end of the day? Think about one good thing from your day..atleast.  As for myself, I have a very difficult job. I work in an intense hospital setting and people are stressed and have been overcome with trauma and grief. Why did I choose to be an OT then?  Some of the downers that come with my job are doing tasks such as bathing people, cleaning up messes..(you know what I mean), getting spit up on, getting pushed & cussed by patients, etc. So, what really gets to you at work? Trust me somewhere all your hard work does pay off.  Here is exactly why all those bad days pay off. So glad I chose to be an OT!

Here are some of my sweet little patients. This is where my job satisfaction comes into play. Whats yours?