Perfusion Notes: [8]

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A Jungle of Information & Putting it Together

I have been very busy with school.  I have had multiple papers, projects and tests over the last few weeks.  On top of that I am pumping cases, reading/studying and when I get a chance sleeping.

School has definitely picked up the pace these last few weeks.  Just a combination of a important information and overlap on due dates.  The material is starting to get much more complicated as we are diving into some of the more detailed parts of perfusion.

Blood management is the big one we are getting into.  This is pretty important stuff so not only is it very detailed, but we take the time to learn a lot of stuff about it.

On top of blood management we are also learning the anatomy and physiology of the heart, lungs and kidneys  right now.  There is just a lot of it and a lot of reading to go along with it.  When it comes to operating room experiences I have seen just about everything.  Lung, heart and liver transplants, on pump off pump CABG, all the valves replaced, Maze, minimally invasive surgery, tumor removal, LVADs…and sure plenty I don’t remember.  I have seen a whole lot and am enjoying it.

Keeping Up …

I will say the strain of keeping up with the pace is hard to deal with.  I find myself burned out pretty good at the end of each day.  I have never been a napper, but find myself napping whether it be in the pump room or right when I get home.  The holidays will be a nice little break, but for now it’s nothing too bad.

One of the hardest things I find about perfusion school thus far is learning all the different personalities.  There are so many different types of people.  They are not hard to get along with, just hard to work well with until you know all the small intricacies and learn their specific language.  I am really looking forward to one of my upcoming classes where we will learn the primary cardiac instruments used in surgery.

It is going to be taught to us in a way that we will virtually be learning how the procedure is done and will be able to tell what is going on just by different instruments used.  I have been picking up on some here and there, but it is hard to get a good grasp on it before actually sitting down outside the OR and focusing on that only subject.

Disassembling the Puzzle Pieces

Another thing I am looking forward to is a cardiac surgeon presenting us with powerpoints with slides and videos of each surgery to show us what is going on.  One of the things I find be drilled into us more and more each day is to not be a pump tech and know anatomy, know pathophysiology, know everyone’s job in the operating room…in other words become a perfusionist and not a heart lung machine operator.

I really enjoy learning become a perfusionist and know what is going on more now that I have the basics down.  I can now focus on the small stuff and what is going on at the field before I really get into my clinicals and pumping multiple times a day, everyday.

I having some tests coming up, so will be pretty busy, but will do my best to write.

Editors Note-

Here is a very cool clip to take your mind off of School…

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo3M6EB8kmk&feature=player_embedded]

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To Be Continued …