Did you really mean to type third **day** of medical school??? Really? “Day?” Did you possibly mean third **year**???
Did your daughter have some sort of specialized operating room training and experience prior to medical school? But...Even then, I would doubt that she would be specially singled out from an entire medical school class ( or have the time) to scrub up to be an assistant to a surgeon. I am completely amazed that the hospital would allow her to do it given the malpractice aspects of the situation.
Honestly, if “day “ is what you mean then something is seriously wrong with this story. While it is possible ( although unlikely) for a third **day** medical student to be a distant observer in an operating room, NO NO NO responsible surgeon would let a person with no training whatsoever to get so close to an operation site that she would be assisting with anything.
First year medical students are busy enough just finding their way to the bookstore to get their books and supplies, locating their labs their classrooms, and adjusting to memorizing up to 2000 pages a week of dense scientific text ( no I am not exaggerating) to be preparing to assist at any surgery. To get anywhere near an operating room table in the form of an assistant would take weeks of specialized training in that one topic.
Perhaps, you should clarify this with your daughter before mentioning the story to others.
What happened is that she was allowed to scrub in and be a ‘retractor bitch’ in a surgery. For most of the surgery, she was asked to hold back a woman's breast as it was removed. Then she was allowed to place on clamps on major arteries, cut out temporary stitches, and put in staples. Under the eye of a surgeon. In a teaching hospital.
Unusual? Not at all. Other students had similar experiences. One delivered an afterbirth. Another helped to cut off a diseased limb. Many others held back tissue, cut out temp stitches, etc. One picked up part of a skull as it was removed. (That was in a VA hospital).
Out of the 140 in her class, probably 3/4 scrubbed in, and of that amount over 1/2 touched a patient. Her’s wasn't even the best story. (IMO, the 1st day med student delivering an afterbirth was the most amazing)
Things have changed since you went through dental school. Her experiences were and are common. This week begins her third week of medical school and she will begin regular, physical contact with incoming patients. It's how things are done now.