Obstetric anesthesia has a pretty regular routine. The two day residents arrive at 7AM to get signout. We check on pre-existing epidurals and then prepare for the scheduled operating room cases of the day. Throughout the day, women are admitted for active labor, induction, or obstetric concerns such as preterm contractions. We see everyone with any complicated medical or obstetric history as well as those who may need labor analgesia. About 70% of patients at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital request epidurals so with 15 potential labor rooms, it can get pretty busy at times. In between, we see our post-op patients and ensure that those with ongoing epidurals are getting relief. At around 2:30PM, the night resident arrives, and if there is time, the attendings try to do some teaching while the fellow covers the service. We sign out at around 4:30PM.
Labor and delivery can be very variable. For the most part, the flow of patients is unexpected, and turnover can be really quick. Occasionally, multiple patients need epidurals at the same time and we have to triage and multitask as best we can. Situations that seem to be progressing well can turn into a stat C-section without warning. So even though there are only a few things we do and see as anesthesiologists, we have to be ready to intervene at any moment.
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In ancient Greece, the asclepion was a healing temple dedicated to Asclepius, the God of Medicine. Asclepius learned the art of surgery from the centaur Chiron and had the ability to raise the dead. The Rod of Asclepius is a roughhewn branch entwined with a single serpent.
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Hi! I am Craig Chen, a third year resident physician in anesthesiology at Stanford Hospitals and Clinics. I went to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco. Prior to medical school, I studied philosophy and biology at Stanford University, along with a minor in creative writing.
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1 comment:
You guys live unexpected lives. You can go from having an amazing day one moment to heart wrenching loss of life the next. I highly respect the work you do daily!!
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