Minor Differences - UCSF

When I first got here for my general surgery rotation, everything was overwhelming and different. It's tough to be the new person, and even stranger when it's at a weird time (after interviews are over) and for no apparent reason (I didn't interview here).

Here are some differences between my program/home (UIHC) and here (UCSF):

-The scrub nurses here don't smack instruments into your open hands during surgery like they do at UIHC. Which sounds weird but I kinda like the forceful placing of instruments. Feels intentional. And sometimes painful haha.

-Attendings tend to explain things through and through here. Things I took for granted are explained-- like locations of placing port sites, why we drape a certain way, why we tuck arms for certain procedures, and whatnot. I appreciate it immensely! It's like surgery 101 for dummies (ie, me)

-Supplies flow freely here. You go to the supply room and grab whatever you want, and however many you want. At home everything is scanned, down to the 4x4 gauzes.

-No one PM rounds here on this team. Can't generalize for other services, but if I do PM rounds I'm basically a saint.

-General surgery really is general surgery here. At home it's subdivided into EGS (emergency general service) and various colorectal/hepatobiliary services. There really isn't a general surgery service at home, which is weird to say!

-Night float residents here are referred to as Moonlighters. They make $125 per hour for their 14 hour shift. Residents are either research residents, or from all over. One guy flies up from LA on the weekends to work here! My attending did it when he was a resident here and paid off his med school loans during residency. 

-Subjective, but there is significantly more BO here. Maybe because no one ever goes home.

-We wear the same scrubs for floor and OR. At home we wear special burgundy scrubs that are not to be worn outside the hospital. Here I wear the same scrubs day in and out, and only change them when I'm in bloody cases. It makes popping down to the OR quick and easy, and I don't have to go to the locker room in between! Not sure about the infection control situation.

-Cafeteria has a doctor's room, which makes working and eating at the same time nice. It even has windows and cell phone reception. Maybe there is one at home that I just don't know about. Cafeteria is also rated 3.5 stars on yelp. Too bad the only thing they serve when I eat lunch at 3:30pm (more than 10 hours of work later) is pizza.