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Surgical Tech Success Newsletter, for
August 27, 2005
Hi,

One of the biggest emotional states surgical tech students go through is the feeling of being completely overwhelmed.

Whether it's because of the hours you have to put into studying, or the time you spend in clinicals, or even after you graduate and you start your first job in surgery, the feeling of being overwhelmed is completely normal!

Being a surgical tech is pretty tough work in the beginning of your program or when you are starting your first job.

Sometimes it's enough to make you want to just give up and think about another career.

Listen, during my first year on the job, I often felt like I just wasn't cut out to be a surgical tech.

The surgeons seem to always be on my case, I felt like I didn't learn enough in school, and trying to remember all of those instruments while being introduced to even more new information really made me feel like I just couldn't get it.

But then one day a coworker put things into perspective for me. She said, just think about the time you first starting driving a car. It felt like there was so much to think about as you pulled the car out of the driveway for the first time.

Can you remember that feeling?

Well, after a couple of times around the block, everything started to feel more comfortable behind the wheel. And within a matter of months you almost start to feel like an expert driver.

Starting a career in surgery is the same thing. You have to go around the block a couple of times and keep trying until things start to feel more comfortable.

That feeling of being overewhelmed is completely normal and it will pass as you get more experience and put some time into your studies or on the job.

My advice to you is to keep yourself involved.

Ask a lot of questions, scrub on as many cases as possible, watch the experienced veterans in action and don't be afraid to learn.

Everybody is a little nervous and intimidated in the beginning. You just have to believe that you will get it and you will.

Don't give up and keep moving forward.

Learn by reviewing your textbooks, looking at online surgical videos, and studying the instruments.

Eventually you will start to feel at ease and you will develop that surgical confidence that can take your career to places you don't even know about right now.

There is an excellent list of Surgical Tech books at https://www.surgicaltechsuccess.com/surgicaltechnologybooks.html

I particularly like Alexander's Care of The Patient In Surgery.

But whatever textbook or study guide you choose, keep learning, always review, and never give up.

You can do this!

If you ever need a little support or somebody to talk to, feel free to contact me and we'll talk.

Until next time~

Talk to you soon...

Thank You!

Robert

https://www.surgicaltechsuccess.com

p.s. If you haven't downloaded the Surgical Tech Success Handbook, go to

https://www.surgicaltechsuccess.com/surgicaltechsuccesshandbook.html

and get your copy today.

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