There are some basic commandments that have been passed down to every surgical staff, resident and student.
- Eat when you can eat
- Sleep when you can sleep
- Read when you can read
- Shit when you can shit
- Go home when you can go home
- Don’t stand when you can sit down
- Don’t sit when you can lie down
- Don’t stay awake when you can sleep
- Don’t fix it if it’s not broken
- Don’t fuck with the pancreas
For everything else, there’s Surgical Recall
The only book you need to be pimp-proof on your surgical rotation and in the ER. I would say, the first 200 pages provide the highest yield content for someone who has never been in the OR. They have chapters on instruments, sutures, knot tying, wounds, drains and tubes, anatomy pearls, complications, ward emergencies and much more. Check out the free online version or Surgical Recall at Google Books. One last thing, buy just the basic Surgical Recall, the Advanced Surgical Recall book isn’t any better.
Buy it now at Surgical Recall, Fifth North American Edition (Recall Series)
Why does everyone hate the pancreas?
We don’t hate the pancreas, you respect it. Because if you touch it and it gets inflammed, it gets nasty. It becomes soft and mushy and messy, hard to sew and control. Plus it can leak digestive enzymes in your abdomen and digest and destroy all your organs. Stay far from it!
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That, and post-Whipple anastomotic leaks = long stays with multiple washouts, ICU care, and wound closure by secondary intent…
[…] great introduction to all things surgical. I’ve posted before about how essential and useful this book is when you’re starting out. If you’ve never […]
orthopedic surgery rules are easier:
eat when you can / sleep when you can / fuck when you can / and, thou shalt not varus
Never heard of the ortho rules but it sounds pretty legit.