INDEXING TITLE: NALUDINO'S MAR (5-02)

TITLE: The Wholistic Surgeon

PERIOD OF MEDICAL OBSERVATION: Feb 2005

NARRATION:

I was the only resident at the ER at that time. Two of my colleagues were operating and another was trying to finish a report. Most of the staff at ER were resting, some are asleep. It was a slow night. I tried to go to sleep but because I was the only one awake at the ER, everyone was approaching me for some kind of information. I even took over the functions of the triage officer.

Suddenly, a taxi arrived, honking its horns, with the passengers apparently in a panic. Thinking that it might be a trauma case, I readied myself. Seeing the triage officer was sleeping. I put it upon myself to approach the taxi and assess the situation. What I saw somehow surprised me. I saw a woman who had just given birth trying to get off the cab with the umbilical cord still attached to her. I immediately asked the nurses to call the attention of the OB-Gyn and Pediatric departments. I, however, started preparing for the inevitable, that I will assist in the delivery of this child, something I haven't done for quite sometime.

To make a long story short, I delivered the baby, brought them to OB-Gyne and Pediatrics, and was fully awake for the rest of the night.

INSIGHTS: (discovery, STIMULUS, reinforcement) (physical, PSYCHOSOCIAL, ethical)

Being a surgery resident, we are expected to continuously hone our surgical skills. We try to keep on accumulating new experiences and ideas. In the process we sometimes forget previous knowledge through disuse. With this experience, I can honestly say that initially I though I would not be able to properly deliver this baby, something that I routinely did when I was an intern. Initially I was seemingly at a loss.

I gathered my wits and sorted through my previous experiences. I then recalled what was supposed to be done.

Although it is incumbent upon us as surgery residents to keep on practicing our skills, we must never forget that we are primarily physicians. As such, patients expect us to treat them not only of their surgical problems but also from ailments such as the simple cold to even delivering babies. If we do this, we come closer to the realization of the wholistic surgeon .