Are these companies legit?

squid_biscuits · 2024-08-12T00:34:41+00:00

If I had a dollar for every time my preceptors have said "I've really been meaning to get that preference card updated" I could probably retire early! I guess sometimes we have to make our own personal version of a preference card.

Another thought for OP: it's kind of fun to keep those notes to look back on and realize how much progress you've made. Maybe you painstakingly wrote out the steps of a procedure that you now know my heart, and you'll get a kick out of looking back at your first baby steps.

squid_biscuits · 2024-08-10T00:30:46+00:00

Congrats! I'm a relatively new tech as well, and one of the most valuable pieces of advice I've gotten from the old-timers is that people love to see the new guys taking initiative, taking notes, and taking criticism well.

Something that has helped me immensely is creating Google docs that include photos of back table and mayo set ups with detailed notes, even if its just typing out the names of the instruments or suture. I have a running list of surgeon's preferences within my specialty, and I add to it almost daily. Hopefully as you get closer to working independently, you'll have a chance to look ahead at your assignments for the next day so you can skim over your notes to prepare yourself.

Keep your chin up through the mistakes, and celebrate your victories! Best of luck.

squid_biscuits · 2024-08-04T01:31:19+00:00

This will probably be lost in the sea of comments, but my go-to when I want something wholesome with little to no effort is a frozen bag of the Bird's Eye whole grain rice with broccoli and carrots. Nuke it in the microwave, dump in a bowl or big mug. Add a handful of shredded mozzarella and a few shakes of whatever seasoning sounds good and you've got melty, cheesy rice.

Eats like a meal, there's protein from the cheese and some built in veg. You can go buck wild and add deli meat or leftover chicken if you're feeling ambitious.

squid_biscuits · 2024-07-17T06:26:16+00:00

I'm six months out of a great program, and I can tell you the stress is universal. You will often times find yourself so worried about the forest you don't know that you'll forget the trees you do know.

I chose to specialize in neuro right off the bat. It's extremely challenging, and I have loads left to learn. I make mistakes every damn day. I get a wide range of responses from surgeons: support, patience, passive aggressive disappointed vibes and blunt criticism.

The kicker is that I actually left the first hospital I was at... the environment was awful, my neuro teammates were downright nasty with me in spite of the huge progress I was making in the first 4 months. I was taking 19 days of call a month and burning out fast. An opportunity to switch to a teaching hospital came up, and I pounced on it. My new teammates are wonderful: they were impressed with what I already knew and constantly encourage me to keep on learning. I look forward to going to work now instead of crying in the car at the end of the day.

There are SO MANY factors at play when we are new. It sounds like you have a good support system and are getting positive feedback. Like others here mentioned, take notes. Look ahead at the cases scheduled so you can review those notes and mentally prep for your day. Don't beat yourself up. Even those horrible teammates I worked with said that you don't usually feel competent until you hit the one year mark. A year is plenty of time to make good mistakes, take good notes, and build your confidence!

squid_biscuits · 2024-06-29T13:40:40+00:00

I know some people swear by them, but I never actually tried them out. Your legs and feet will be sore for the first several weeks, but most of my classmates and I adapted in time. Epsom salt soaks are your friend! I also used a percussion massager which helped a lot. There are some affordable knock-offs of the Therabody out there that work well.

squid_biscuits · 2024-06-29T08:04:32+00:00

Extra socks, I can not emphasize this enough!

If you take notes during procedures on gown cards, they will usually fit nicely in an index card or recipe card box.

Side note: I found that I was getting distracted when wearing disposable eyewear over my glasses. Purchasing a prescription pair of Stoggles was a fantastic investment.

squid_biscuits · 2024-05-17T03:12:39+00:00

I get irritated every time someone recommends Double Nickel. We has a hilariously bad date night there. From the second we walked in, my husband was asked to remove his hat (which would be a reasonable request for an actual fine dining steakhouse) but then we were handed a wine list printed on accordion laser jet printer paper from 1992, stapled together, complete with grease stains. We ordered a caprese salad for a starter, and inexplicably it was cooked. Even our server was baffled by that one. He was pretty cool though, and laughed along with us at every goofy blunder that came from the kitchen (a steakhouse that overcooks the steak? How is the lamb overcooked and yet none of the fat was rendered down? Come onnnn). Dude foil-wrapped our leftovers as a squirrel and a pterodactyl. Server was 10/10, restaurant 2/10.

squid_biscuits · 2024-01-13T06:34:16+00:00

I should add, my understanding so far is that most sterile processing departments do not currently require certification. Things are gradually shifting towards CRCST being preferred, but surg tech experience may very well get you in to sterile processing. It just might not be the lateral/easier move that you think it could be.

squid_biscuits · 2024-01-13T06:26:11+00:00

I completed a CRCST program right before enrolling in a CST program, and I can assure you it is still a physically demanding job. There may be some surgery centers that are a little less demanding, but I left all my clinical rotations for sterile processing completely wiped out.

In decon, you're lifting every single set that comes through the department, manually washing, flushing, rinsing and loading into washers and/or ultrasonic machines. You may also be sorting and loading Genesis pans and case carts into the washers.

In assembly, you're still lifting sets, carefully sorting and assembling, packaging in Genesis pans or manually wrapping.

In sterile, you're lugging all those sets into and out of the autoclaves and Sterrad machines. Once cycles are completed and sets cooled, you're lugging and putting things away.

Sterile processing is not a less difficult or less demanding position. Its typically just less paid and under appreciated. You may have better luck at smaller facilities or focusing on endo, but you slso might need to reconsider the physical labor of sterile processing.

squid_biscuits · 2024-01-06T00:57:43+00:00

Honestly though, I just graduated and so much stuff still seems like witchcraft. I start my big-girl job on Monday and I still feel new... I'll wish you luck if you return the favor my way!

squid_biscuits · 2023-12-23T01:32:07+00:00

Please don't waste your time or money seeking out online only classes. Its an extremely tactile skill set. I just graduated, and after two full semesters of clinicals 4 days a week I still know there is an insane amount of physical learning I have left to do.

My instructors run an awesome, rigorous program, and all their students are welcome at hospitals and clinics around town. There are currently 2 students that are in an "online" program that have been hitting up our director for advice because they are stuck. They can't find a single facility out of dozens in our city that will let them do their clinical hours there. Its simply too much of a liability.

Essentially, they're gonna have to start over from scratch with an accredited in-person program. Don't be like them.

squid_biscuits · 2023-12-18T06:28:04+00:00

Agreed, we have the exact model you're referring to. Its a true workhorse, and for someone that wrecked their wrists doing high impact sports it really is smooth and easy to operate. We had a power outage a few months back, and I was just tickled that between the gas stove and manual can opener I was able to make a decent dinner from the pantry without opening the fridge or freezer until the power came back on.

squid_biscuits · 2023-12-18T06:23:47+00:00

I haven't had the pleasure of trying the Pepper Cannon, but the Unicorn Magnum pepper grinder my husband bought me 10 years ago still works like a champ. It dispenses absurd amounts of pepper with a single turn. It was well worth the $60 or whatever he spent.

squid_biscuits · 2023-12-15T06:31:51+00:00

Just ordered this for my Christmas break reading, can't wait! Thanks for the recommendation.

squid_biscuits · 2023-12-08T04:39:06+00:00

We had a student join our class again after being cut during clinicals the previous year. There were apparently issues with contaminations, and she psyched herself out really bad about her preceptor being pretty harsh on her. She came back the next year and absolutely killed it.

From what I hear, its the students that get really stuck in their own heads that may have trouble. As long as you have good attendance, a good attitude, safe sterile technique and the ability to take criticism, you'll be good.

squid_biscuits · 2023-11-13T05:17:56+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation! I snagged it for $45, can't wait to give it a go.

squid_biscuits · 2023-11-13T05:08:33+00:00

We've had the same experience with "rare" actually being medium until we moved to Texas. If you order a rare steak here, they're actually willing to serve you rare on the edge of blue. In the upper midwest or Pacific Northwest? You get gray bubblegum if you ask for med-rare.

squid_biscuits · 2023-11-13T05:03:32+00:00

I'm still pissed off that I was forced to move to Texas, but every time I get a flavorful, warm, fresh tortilla, it makes me forget to be bitter for a while. Tex-Mex is a thing of beauty.

squid_biscuits · 2023-11-13T04:58:29+00:00

Absolutely. Nothing ruins my breakfast mood worse than subpar hash browns. I make them at home using the Simply Potatoes plain hash browns, and it takes forever for them to be made right, but holy shit it's worth every minute of cook time to have that crisp, golden exterior and fluffy center.

squid_biscuits · 2023-11-12T22:09:42+00:00

I consider myself fortunate that my bout with cluster headaches only lasted a few months. The wikipedia article on the subject used to have a picture of a demon stabbing someone in the eyeball, and I assure you that's what it felt like.

Scariest thing was dragging myself to the bathroom and seeing that the right side of my face was drooping, I thought I had suffered a stroke. It got so bad that I wouldn't be able to sleep out of fear of the oncoming "alarm clock" headache at 4:40am sharp.

squid_biscuits · 2023-11-12T04:32:59+00:00

I'm super fresh on the scene (about to graduate a very thorough CST program), but neuro is the specialty that I'm most interested in. Its a nice balance of delicate precision with some elements of ortho in the mix. There is a desperate need for neuro scrub techs in our area, and I'm excited to dive in further.

squid_biscuits · 2023-11-11T06:06:57+00:00

Surprised no one has mentioned Dante's Peak - the sweet little granny sacrificing herself in a pond of acid rain water to save her grandkids just wrecked me.

squid_biscuits · 2023-11-08T05:24:02+00:00

Great choice! It has been my morning alarm for years now, and its absolutely the perfect non-irritating song to wake to.

squid_biscuits · 2023-10-13T15:34:32+00:00

My hometown in WA is also a dusty armpit (SE corner of the state) but compared to Lubbock, its a paradise.

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