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Saturday, October 1, 2011

Orthopedic surgery...whhhaaatttttttttt ;)

So I became a little video happy and actually filmed two videos in one night but the by the time the second one was all edited and ready to be uploaded I was too tired so I let it upload overnight and it's up! This video is about my experience in Orthopedic surgery and some things I feel that every student should know. Below are my tips listed in the video for more elaboration pleaseeeeee watch the video :)

  • NVA : Neurovascular Assessments
    • These are so important I just cannot even stress how important it is to know the neurovascular status of your patients limb that was operated on. If your patient had a R knee replacement  you want to make sure that the blood vessels and nerves passing through the operating site are still intact and working fine and that blood going all the way down to the tips of their toes so you check for warmth, sensation, movement, circulation and pulses. You are always comparing one limb to the other to ensure that they are both equal
  •  Knowing your surgery:
    • Make sure you know what suregery your patient had and the potential complications so you know what to watch out for and where to focus your assessment. 
  • Knowing your complication:
    • For most orthopedic surgeries I came across the following complications that I was always monitoring for : pain assessment, watching for compartment syndrome, urinary retention, decreased healing and constipation (especially for patients on opioids)
  • Knowing your drugs:
    • This tip goes for all rotations but especially for orthopedics because you are handing out a lot of antibiotics, opioids, anti emetics..so you need to know what they are, what they do, what other drugs they interact with and also what their side effects are. Don't be afraid to go look in a drug guide if you are ever doubtful!
  • Know your precautions
    • Each orthopedic surgery is going to come with a certain set of precautions (the way the pt can or cannot move) depending on the type of surgery that they had. It's your job to not only encourage your pt to adhere to these precautions but to also enforce them and help your patient in doing them. It's for their own good! 
  • H-T Assessments
    • Doing a head to toe assessment feels fairly comfortable in your 2nd year but always do a very thorough assessment that way you have a baseline and can be alert to changes in your patients status as some patients statues can change very quickly post op. 

I hope this was useful for you guys!!! The link for the video is below and let me know what you think  by commenting here or on my video:D

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