I started my theatre placements today which was a very strange experience. It made me feel like I was a vulture, circling, waiting for my next victim patient…..

I have to spend the next three week in hospital, 2 weeks of which are in Operating Theaters.

The idea of the two weeks of placements are so that I can practice Intubation and Cannulation on real people rather than latex models like we had a Uni.

Whilst the skill of intubating or cannulating is the same no matter whether you are indoors or outdoors, there are many things that are different.  To start off you need to learn lots of names of the people that work in theaters and figure out their role in this new environment.  Then you need to figure out who sits at the top of the pile and who is at the bottom….

The next thing that you need to figure out is all the different kit that is used.  The laryngoscope and ET tube are much the same, but there are lots of machines that go beep, lots of different tubes and hoses, even the bag from the ventilator is in a different place and different angle.

And then there is the fact that a person is at hand, their role is to pass you kit, inflate the cuff for you, tie of your tube and pretty much everything else there is to do for you.

That isn’t it…. your in a well lit room, the room is warm and your patient is laid flat on a table that is just at the right height.

This make for quite a scary experience!!

Now if I was given a patient in cardiac arrest in an upside down car that is resting in a water filled muddy ditch whilst it is raining and dark at 03:00 I would have been much more at home!!!