What's my role?

There we were - 45 minutes into the procedure, multiple puncture sites in her large back, and still no success. A large, obese lady (BMI>40) just came out of surgery and was in pain. Acute pain service, my rotation for the day, was called to evaluate and possibly place an epidural catheter to deliver analgesics and narcotics into her spinal area directly. Due to her large size, we had to try multiple times and use ultrasound guidance but none of it was working. The poor lady was in pain, but worse of all was the nurse on the other side of the patient. For the procedure, it's best if the patient is leaning forward, sitting up on bed with her leg hanging off the side. As this patient was still a little dopey due to pain medications, she needed help in staying upright. The nurse practionner on the acute pain service was helping position the patient and this included holding her shoulders and propping the patient up - in essence having the patient lean against her. Remember - this is a large, 300 pound lady resting against a small, short, nurse who can't weigh more than 120 pounds. I could clearly see that she was struggling, and I was not alone. Another nurse asked if she needed help, and she said no the first time. I was observing the whole procedure on the opposite side of the patient.

Normally, I would offer to help - and believe me, the thought came across many a time while we stood there for the 45 minutes (which became closer to an hour). I was torn - on one hand I felt awful having the poor nurse prop up this beheomoth, yet on the other hand I wanted to observe the procedure and see how they handled this difficult case. It struck me then - my role was to learn, not help. We later called a clinical assistant who came over and helped. All this time while I was on the floors I tried to be helpful, do something productive. I never minded the "scut" routines. Yet in doing this I've clearly interferred with my learning opportunities. This particular example was simply an exaggeration where I had to choose between helping or learning. In the end, I chose to learn and stayed put. I was uncomfortable with my decision, but ultimately, I think I made the right choice.