Today, I saw one of the most obese patients ever. I swear, she must have been over 450lbs. People wonder why I eat so little... it's because of moments like these. I see these people, and I think- 'I'm going to skip my next meal...'
\
Another man had blue spots all over his body. I'm serious. Little blue indented (2-3 mm) dots. I later found out that he was a regular drug user. Interesting. I get to meet all kinds of people. Then I asked -"It's Monday.. why are we seeing so many patients in the middle of the day"
Of course, Dr. A grew up in Plano, so he knows the bubble community from whence I have emerged. "Growing up in Plano makes you oblivious to the rampant unemployment in other areas. Some people don't have to work, so they choose not to."
That's absolutely sickening. Why not strive for a better life? What do they think of when they see the future? Is it just a big grey slate? How do you live life with a grey slate? I'll tell you what I see in my future only if you knock some wood three times and ask me in private*.
The summer semester has taught me much, and I'm glad it's over in a very productive fashion. I'm going to go play with my $100 flashlight. Yes. I got it now, and you're about to get owned by the LUXEON LED 100 LUMEN 4 WATT AWESOMENESS.
*: I must see you knock before I answer. Crazy? Yes. Best safe than sorry.
21 August 2006
18 August 2006
If I was a hobo. / Etiquette
I had to go to the airport today, and I'll say, hobos are getting to be real slackers. If I was a hobo, I'd totally live at the airport, under one of the many overpasses. I have lots of trouble sleeping in extremely quiet environments. In fact, I'd fall asleep really quickly at an airport. Something about jets taking off and landing is very comforting. Also, the council can hitch rides without having to resort to using their C-class jets. Win-win.
\
Originally, I was going to make some diagrams illustrating rules of etiquette I try to follow when shadowing, but that's troublesome, so I made ONE diagram, and that should be enough.
1. Doctor + Me.
This is easy. A flanking position (assuming Doctor at E) would be G or I. These two positions provide 1) humbleness (behind) and 2) communication (following at H would make it difficult to communicate).
A, B, C don't make sense, since I'm always following. F, D are reserved for other doctors, people of similar standing.
2. Doctor + Doctor + Me
This second scenario is tricky. If both Doctors are at [D,F] or [A,C], then problem solved; the ideal position would be H and E, respectively. Yet often, this is not the case. Doctors often follow a humble code themselves, and one finds an arrangement with a Doctor at A and F. Here, rules go out the window; there are no correct answers (although there are wrong ones). D is sometimes acceptable, but B,C are forbidden. Sometimes, the Doctors are at [A,E]. This is even wierder.
I suppose the main point is stated in 1). A flanking position is always ideal. Honorific and humble systems make lots of sense. Ideally, the subordinate behaves humbly to an upper, and the upper sports a paternalistic attitude towards the lower, offering advice not only on work issues, but also life, hobbies, free time, etc. The lower is encouraged to reveal details, and this works to his benefit, as leniency can be granted during difficult times. Over time, the subordinate would be come an upper, only to teach another.
This system would have a hard time being implemented here, as most people would have a hard time differentiating between a "lower" (who should be thought of as a student) and a "personal slave", since most white people are idiots*. The power would be abused and dissent would rise. Also, there's always this strive for equality, which isn't bad, just that when you know two things aren't equal, there's no point in forcing it.
The strive for equality also leads to girls cursing like truckers. Is it so necessary? I know girls that cuss 20x more than me, and complaining always brings up the gender issue. I can't quite put a finger on why girls shouldn't cuss so much, so I'll keep mum for now. I can't tell why anyone should cuss at all, actually. "releasing emotion" through words seems barbaric, especially since the problem still exists.
[Problem + Emotion] - Cussing = [Problem]
Just fix the problem. Like how I'm going to watch some dramas, and fix my problem.
*: See US Presidential Elections 2000 and 2004.
\
Originally, I was going to make some diagrams illustrating rules of etiquette I try to follow when shadowing, but that's troublesome, so I made ONE diagram, and that should be enough.
1. Doctor + Me.This is easy. A flanking position (assuming Doctor at E) would be G or I. These two positions provide 1) humbleness (behind) and 2) communication (following at H would make it difficult to communicate).
A, B, C don't make sense, since I'm always following. F, D are reserved for other doctors, people of similar standing.
2. Doctor + Doctor + Me
This second scenario is tricky. If both Doctors are at [D,F] or [A,C], then problem solved; the ideal position would be H and E, respectively. Yet often, this is not the case. Doctors often follow a humble code themselves, and one finds an arrangement with a Doctor at A and F. Here, rules go out the window; there are no correct answers (although there are wrong ones). D is sometimes acceptable, but B,C are forbidden. Sometimes, the Doctors are at [A,E]. This is even wierder.
I suppose the main point is stated in 1). A flanking position is always ideal. Honorific and humble systems make lots of sense. Ideally, the subordinate behaves humbly to an upper, and the upper sports a paternalistic attitude towards the lower, offering advice not only on work issues, but also life, hobbies, free time, etc. The lower is encouraged to reveal details, and this works to his benefit, as leniency can be granted during difficult times. Over time, the subordinate would be come an upper, only to teach another.
This system would have a hard time being implemented here, as most people would have a hard time differentiating between a "lower" (who should be thought of as a student) and a "personal slave", since most white people are idiots*. The power would be abused and dissent would rise. Also, there's always this strive for equality, which isn't bad, just that when you know two things aren't equal, there's no point in forcing it.
The strive for equality also leads to girls cursing like truckers. Is it so necessary? I know girls that cuss 20x more than me, and complaining always brings up the gender issue. I can't quite put a finger on why girls shouldn't cuss so much, so I'll keep mum for now. I can't tell why anyone should cuss at all, actually. "releasing emotion" through words seems barbaric, especially since the problem still exists.
[Problem + Emotion] - Cussing = [Problem]
Just fix the problem. Like how I'm going to watch some dramas, and fix my problem.
*: See US Presidential Elections 2000 and 2004.
17 August 2006
Pain, among other things
Today was the first day of shadowing, and although it's always been there, I suppose I just noticied it today.
There's this big drive on all the tower floors, to "reduce pain". Of course, that's not a bad thing, but most of the patients that come in there have been smoking for 40 years, and then expect to have all their pain removed by a couple of morphine drips. That was a bit irritating, because patients need to stfu, and stop sneaking out for smoke breaks.
じゃあ。始めましょ！
1. 55 year old, Male, African American
Comes in with complaints of SOMETHING on his foot. This is Dallas, so everyone's expecting something kickaess. Naturally, it was kickaess, but probably not for the patient. It was this big pus-filled abcess. Yeah.. Then the doctor had to pop it. Whoo. There goes my lunch. Probably one of the nastiest abcesses I've ever seen. At least it didn't squirt. I tried my best to maintain a very stoic countenance, but I found the sides of my mouth clenching for relief. But that's not the weird part.
During the course of the procedure (draining + evaluation), he was smiling with this very pretentious looking top-hat, as if he was about to break into some dance routine. I later found out that he was a little mentally unstable. No one smiles when a metal probe is 4 inches into an abcess, because it hurts like hell.
2. 36 year old, Female, African American
This lady was also mentally unstable. Her wound was nothing new; small, chronic, easy to cure (for normal people, anyway). She kept talking about when she found out she got Diabetes Type I during her childhood and her friends would sneak her candybars and she'd end up in the ER. Yet, like an Alzheimer's patient, she continued to consumed pilfered candy. Oh well. Then she started talking about her podiatrist, and everyone got the feeling that she had a crush on him.
lol.
Beyond that, usual stuff, crazy people in the hospital (the above mentioned were clinic patients), some people being told that they'd lose their leg, and others being told that the only emotion their father/mother can feel is pain. Harsh, yes. Take care of your body. Although I'm probably not one to say that.
I remembered this one funny incident, which only resurfaced when accusations of being a stereotypical Plano elitist were directed toward me.
During one of the meetings, we were discussing "car safety". The RA asks "What's the best way to keep your car safe, from broken into, and possibly being stolen?".
Then answer was obvious. Not was. Is obvious. The answer IS obvious. Engine immobililzer technology. I promptly raised my hand. "A small magnetic chip inserted in your key will enable the ignition mechanism to lift the safety locks, allowing you to start your car". Rofl. At that time, I thought all (relatively recent) cars came with it, like passenger side airbags.
Apparently not. EI technology was (then) found on certain Honda models among others. Oh well. The accepted, "Big Brother" answer is "keep your valuables from being seen from the outside".
Just because Ford and GM make shitty cars doesn't mean you have to alter your behavior. Oh and some South African invented a system that sprays gasoline and ignites it to anyone carjacking you. We had much fun discussing this (Doctor + Me + Drug Rep). Then I mooched some free lunch from the drug company. Huzzah.
There's this big drive on all the tower floors, to "reduce pain". Of course, that's not a bad thing, but most of the patients that come in there have been smoking for 40 years, and then expect to have all their pain removed by a couple of morphine drips. That was a bit irritating, because patients need to stfu, and stop sneaking out for smoke breaks.
じゃあ。始めましょ！
1. 55 year old, Male, African American
Comes in with complaints of SOMETHING on his foot. This is Dallas, so everyone's expecting something kickaess. Naturally, it was kickaess, but probably not for the patient. It was this big pus-filled abcess. Yeah.. Then the doctor had to pop it. Whoo. There goes my lunch. Probably one of the nastiest abcesses I've ever seen. At least it didn't squirt. I tried my best to maintain a very stoic countenance, but I found the sides of my mouth clenching for relief. But that's not the weird part.
During the course of the procedure (draining + evaluation), he was smiling with this very pretentious looking top-hat, as if he was about to break into some dance routine. I later found out that he was a little mentally unstable. No one smiles when a metal probe is 4 inches into an abcess, because it hurts like hell.
2. 36 year old, Female, African American
This lady was also mentally unstable. Her wound was nothing new; small, chronic, easy to cure (for normal people, anyway). She kept talking about when she found out she got Diabetes Type I during her childhood and her friends would sneak her candybars and she'd end up in the ER. Yet, like an Alzheimer's patient, she continued to consumed pilfered candy. Oh well. Then she started talking about her podiatrist, and everyone got the feeling that she had a crush on him.
lol.
Beyond that, usual stuff, crazy people in the hospital (the above mentioned were clinic patients), some people being told that they'd lose their leg, and others being told that the only emotion their father/mother can feel is pain. Harsh, yes. Take care of your body. Although I'm probably not one to say that.
I remembered this one funny incident, which only resurfaced when accusations of being a stereotypical Plano elitist were directed toward me.
During one of the meetings, we were discussing "car safety". The RA asks "What's the best way to keep your car safe, from broken into, and possibly being stolen?".
Then answer was obvious. Not was. Is obvious. The answer IS obvious. Engine immobililzer technology. I promptly raised my hand. "A small magnetic chip inserted in your key will enable the ignition mechanism to lift the safety locks, allowing you to start your car". Rofl. At that time, I thought all (relatively recent) cars came with it, like passenger side airbags.
Apparently not. EI technology was (then) found on certain Honda models among others. Oh well. The accepted, "Big Brother" answer is "keep your valuables from being seen from the outside".
Just because Ford and GM make shitty cars doesn't mean you have to alter your behavior. Oh and some South African invented a system that sprays gasoline and ignites it to anyone carjacking you. We had much fun discussing this (Doctor + Me + Drug Rep). Then I mooched some free lunch from the drug company. Huzzah.
16 August 2006
Shadowing
Tomorrow morning is the first shadowing day, expect interesting stories. Also, you can comment on this post on what I should write about.
Tomorrow:
-Shadowing
-Summer Business
-Plan for the next 2 weeks (1.5 weeks now...)
Tomorrow:
-Shadowing
-Summer Business
-Plan for the next 2 weeks (1.5 weeks now...)
15 August 2006
11 August 2006
Finals
Final on Monday. Look for a post either Monday or Tuesday afternoon, probably chronicling shadowing events.
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