Tomorrow will complete week one of school, and let me tell you, it hasn't been easy! In fact, the first day we went over material, I swear I was looking at my professor like a deer in headlights. I had no idea what he was saying, I was just trying to hurry and scribble down as many notes as I possibly could and hoping to make sense of it later. The thing about starting a medical program like this is, these classes are completely foreign. Typically, you go into a harder math or english class and you already (or at least you should) have a general grasp on the subject. Surgical Technology is something I've never been lectured on or taught, making it all brand spanking new. Sure, I know some of the science and some of the medical terms (thank you medical terminology) but the actual processing behind it? Absolutely not.



Anyway, after the first day I came home and scrambled to make sense of the chicken scratch I called notes. I read several pages in one of our giant text books, took even more notes, and then called it a day. I felt a sense of relief on day two, because it was much better. It was starting to click and it made me good. Then day three came, which was a two hour class and then a three hour lab. I was so excited for the hands on part of it, but completely overwhelmed when my lab professor handed me a sheet of paper with 28 surgical instruments listed. Not because of the 28 that were there because I figured, 28? That's easy! It was after that when she said, "this is 28 of 500 you will have to learn." You could imagine my surprise - I swear my jaw hit the floor. Today was the second day of lab, and we actually got to physically see the instruments listed on that sheet of paper. The hardest part is so many of them look the same. They're so similar and you literally have to inspect the teeth, the smoothness, the weight and other characteristics that are extremely detailed in order to tell the difference of them all. I mean, how many pairs of scissors can you actually have?! Are that many pick ups that necessary? Why do some forceps look like tweezers and some look like scissors? Don't even get me started on the giant retractors. Then, what I thought were blunt knives, were actually knives without blades. Yep, there are several different blades you have to know too. As stressful as it may be, I've never been more excited. I ENJOY the studying. As soon as I get home, I start reading and practicing and taking notes and studying the instruments. In fact, I haven't turned on the TV one time today. This is so important to me and I want to excel in this so badly and be the best I can be. Pre-Clinicals start in October, and I can hardly wait. It's going to be such a rush to be in the operating room.

This is only the beginning.