Article reprint from AdvanceWeb.com - author is Timothy Loerke, a PA student in Fort Worth
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If you are interested in surgery, and orthopedics is not on the list, you might want to reconsider. This field is packed with fun cases that require mechanical ingenuity, and the PAs are well utilized in the clinic and OR. Here are some of the things I learned over the past month.
1. History is everything. The surgeon would often stress how a good history will tell you everything you need to know. He encouraged me to first talk to the patient before looking at x-rays or reading the referral note. There is a sequence of events when making a clinical decision. It all starts with the patient.
2. “You’ve got to know how to talk to the ladies.” No, I did not learn how to be a chauvinist on this rotation. This was a funny saying my preceptor would often declare after treating fellow staff or nurses with respect. I know what he meant with that comment. Surgery can be a stressful place, and the first thing to go is the regard for others. It’s important to keep a sense of humor and respect for those around you.
3. Reproduce the demonstration. Whe...
