A Day in the Life....

...of  a Camp Bucca Surgeon. Is not very fascinating.

It's been a while since I graced this board with "Steve's Thoughts," so  figured it was about time to indulge my grateful fans (all two of them) with a little something new. I've pondered about what subject matter I should address next. After arriving here, my travels were over, and it seems like one day has simply blended into another. Nothing new or exciting happens from day to day, and therefore there was little material to write. As mundane as things might seem to me, though, I'm sure that the question of "What do you actually do in a day?" is still lingering. I shall attempt to address just that query.

Mornings:

I'd like to set up a "routine" but that would require dedication to waking up by around 0600. While I'm fully capable of this, it's nice to actually sleep in until 0730-0800. Nevertheless, there have been days that I got up in the morning and went for a 2-4mi run to start the day. These could be counted on one hand. Most days, I simply get up and go about the standard morning preparations and head off to the hospital. 

There are several ways of closing the 3/4mi distance between "home" and the hospital. By far, the most convenient is to walk. It takes about 15-20min to make the trek over a combination of sand, gravel, and hardpacked mud in 35lbs of body armor, but my feet are always available to take me. The bus, while much easier on the body and a good deal faster, only runs every 50min. From time to time, a kind passerby in an SUV will stop and offer a ride. Most of the time, they simply smile and wave, "Good morning! Hope you're enjoying your walk."

Workday:

My OR days are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and things kick off around 0900, so I like to show up a little before that. If I'm actually up early, I'll make sure to round on everyone (usual inpatient census of between 3-5) and change their dressings, etc. prior to the start of my first case. Otherwise, they get seen throughout the morning between cases. I generally schedule three cases per day which allows for the all-too-frequent add on appendectomy, etc....  Wed is my easy day because I only have an afternoon clinic; I guess the mornings are for administrative tasks. Like sleeping.  Friday is an all-day clinic. So, each week I get to see detainees for one and a half days of clinic. Their complaints vary from hernias, lipomas, and hemorrhoids all the way to thyroid and rectal cancer. Unfortunately, Camp Bucca can't really support surgery for low rectal cancer, and Steve - despite doing a large number of thyroidectomies in residency, or perhaps because of it - has a healthy enough respect for that gland to avoid operating on it in this environment without assistance. All in all, most days are done by 1500 at the latest. Again, this can always be delayed by the excessively common appendectomy.*

Evening: 

The evening begins with the walk back to the Pod. See above. Now, here's where things get mixed up a bit. There are a variety of ways to pass the remainder of the day. Relative staples include:

- Dinner

- Gym

- Ping Pong/Pool/Foosball

- Movie night with Anesthesia

If the workday is over early enough, we can sneak in a workout prior to dinner. Otherwise, it's an early dinner then Gym, then movienight (relatively regular at 2000 every night - by the way, feel free to send movies, we're running out). We always leave a little flexibility in our day, though. We've been blessed with other opportunities to occupy ourselves such as Ultimate Frisbee or other sporting activities. If none of these are going on, and it isn't one of the handful of days that I actually got up to run in the morning, I'll top off my day with a run at night.

Shower.

Sleep. 

Repeat x 180.

Weekends are a little different matter. Nothing scheduled happens at the hospital on weekends. So, I get to go in at my leisure and make sure that my folks are all still breathing, etc. Then, I get to try to invent creative new ways to while away the hours. These are typically the Ping Pong days or Other Ridiculous Activity days (i.e. eat 30 bowls of ice cream in 24hrs). 

I hate Camp Bucca. Everyone does. That bond, I think, is what unites us. The majority of the people here are well-meaning folks, and it's the people that make a deployment tolerable. While this was supposed to be the most professionally meaningful time of my life, it really has turned out to be one of the most professionally meaningless episodes. I am thankful that I can share this cynicism with the entire OR staff. These relationships give rise to absurd thinks like the ice cream challenge, and for all of its stupidity, it is one thing that has kept us all closer to sane.

And that's how one spends a day as a General Surgeon at Camp Bucca. For those who care to know, my caseload breaks out to about 50% hernias/hydroceles. 15-20% appendectomies (seriously), 10-15% anorectal, 3% cholecystectomies, and the rest are a mixture of lumps/bumps/etc...

*Appendectomy rant will be available shortly as a Footnote.