Fourth Week of Internship

We mostly do our daily tasks by ourselves. Homework, washing dishes, cleaning our rooms, learning to drive, etc. are things done by a single individual throughout the year. However, it would have been impossible for one person, for example, to create the skyscrapers we see today. You need a construction team, contractors, architects, designers, and other specialized work personnel. In a similar aspect, a surgery functions like the building of a skyscraper. There needs to be scrub techs handing instruments of repair, nurses providing comfort for the patient, and the surgeon with his residents, eager to harness the trade at hand.

I noticed this particular theme of surgery during the course of the procedures I viewed today. I was able to once again observe Dr. Casiano and his ENT cases. I saw two of the same surgeries, called functional sinus endoscopies, that involved removing polyps (masses of nasal tissues formed from disease or allergies) from the different areas of the nose such as the maxillary. But what moved me about the surgery was not the procedure itself, but rather the harmony that exists with these professionals in the OR. Everyone is expected to perform at their best because one person can set off the balance. It reminded me of music; missing even a single beat causes the rhythm to be temporarily lost and discordant. Surgery is homologous to a musical composition. Every note must be played and factors such as timing, consistency, and harmony are essential to a great song or, in my case, surgery.

Imagine this for just a moment. Dr. Casiano is about to start his case and how can he pay attention to the instruments and the patient at the same time. That is where the scrub tech comes into play. He or she gives him the instrument that is requested by the surgeon. But what if the instrument is not available and Dr. Casiano has nothing else he can do. Every minute wasted means more opportunity for contamination and mistakes. The nurse helping in the room can quickly search for the desired tool. Notice how if one of the “notes” offsets the other, then the result of everything is a halt or an “off tune” case. These are often the things that musicians avoid.

I believe that honing this togetherness and exercising good relationships ensures success to any career. It is important to enjoy what you do with other people that hopefully share the same excitement you have. One cannot expect you to do everything; that is why you have people there ready to take on the same case you are. Despite popular belief, the surgeon is not the one who does all the work but has a team that assists him in the success or even at times failure of his or her cases. Ultimately, it is up to us to become respectable and honest to one another because it is this coexistence that defines how the procedure will finish. After pondering over these thoughts, I can now honestly say that there is no “I” in team.