How long did it take for surgery to become "boring" for you?

[Quizlet04]

I am guessing at some point the thrill of cutting into someone turned into something routine or boring. Yes, everyone has days where they want to cut into their own carotids or cut out of the hospital altogether, but how long in your training did it take you to stop being excited at the first incision or clipping an artery for a nephrectomy?

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[Winged Scapula]

Hmmmm..... >10 years out and I'm still not there yet.

 

[TypeADissection]

Although there comes a point very early in your residency where you aren't as "excited" per se for the cases for the day, it doesn't mean that it still isn't fun. I'm not tachycardic or teeming with excitement and anxiety when doing a bypass or carotid, but there's such a beauty in how tissue planes come apart, and the sewing, etc. There's just nothing better than surgery. Cheers.

 

[vhawk]

Not sure when it becomes boring. I'll let you know when it stops being terrifying.

 

[mimelim]

I am guessing at some point the thrill of cutting into someone turned into something routine or boring. Yes, everyone has days where they want to cut into their own carotids or cut out of the hospital altogether, but how long in your training did it take you to stop being excited at the first incision or clipping an artery for a nephrectomy?

6 years into it now, not there yet. Most of what I do every day is routine. Probably a couple of times a month I'm doing something that is as exciting as my first incision. Last week was someone who had a bullet lodged in their SFA after eroding in their aorta... Hard to imagine my job or life ever being boring. If it ever does, I'll move on and do something else.

 

[ThoracicGuy]

I am guessing at some point the thrill of cutting into someone turned into something routine or boring. Yes, everyone has days where they want to cut into their own carotids or cut out of the hospital altogether, but how long in your training did it take you to stop being excited at the first incision or clipping an artery for a nephrectomy?

Surgery isn't boring, but a "boring" surgery is a good surgery. I'd rather not have a bunch of excitement during the cases because that usually means there is an issue.

 

[LucidSplash]

Always 1000x better than rounding for 10 hours a day. PGY-8 and still not boring.

 

[VincentAdultman]

It's not boring. But I'm not terrified anymore.

 

[MediCane2006]

Not sure when it becomes boring. I'll let you know when it stops being terrifying.

ditto

 

[dpmd]

I think comfortable is a better term for it than boring. The stuff I do all the time is pretty comfortable now and has been since probably a few months into attendinghood. Doesn't mean there aren't still moments of first time excitement and/or terror. I suspect that will continue as long as I still operate because even the most routine case can turn exciting in an instant.

There are some parallels to married sex. After 15yrs there is some element of routine to it, but that just means that it is better than at first when the excitement is high but you don't know how to do it as well as you do with practice and knowledge, and of course there is always the possibility of something going wrong or trying something a new way.

 

[filter07]

I'm never bored doing an operation or procedure. There are things that are very routine for me. What makes it fun is that 1) I'm helping someone 2) I get paid well to do it 3) every case always has the potential for the unexpected. Now talking to someone in clinic who goes off on tangents and has no idea about their own medications or history, that's a different story. Fortunately there are people whose entire job is to deal with that, and they send me nice summary notes.

 

[MediCane2006]

I think my field lends itself to creativity in the OR, but even for surgeries that I do a ton of (breast recon, reduction mammoplasty, etc) I manage to find ways to make each case interesting/challenging. I don’t think there is such a thing as “boring” surgery honestly.

 

[GenSurgONLY]

Although there comes a point very early in your residency where you aren't as "excited" per se for the cases for the day, it doesn't mean that it still isn't fun. I'm not tachycardic or teeming with excitement and anxiety when doing a bypass or carotid, but there's such a beauty in how tissue planes come apart, and the sewing, etc. There's just nothing better than surgery. Cheers.

This sums up your post(s) for me:
Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood. – T.S. Eliot