

This May Hurt a Bit: Harvard medical student's blog - papermashea
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/this-may-hurt-a-bit/

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JeremyMorgan
This article puts a human touch on a human situation, from their point of
view. As a volunteer firefighter I see more stuff than you normally would on
average and it gives you a different perspective. For instance:

Before I got into this field, I always thought of firefighters, paramedics and
doctors as magical superheroes that can fix anything. As long as you make it
to their doorstep you'll be fine. This is not not always the case. the amount
of people who are unsaveable would shock you. Even in the very best of care.

That's not a slight on firefighters, paramedics or doctors in the least bit,
I'm just saying from statistics perspective there are way too many things out
there that will kill you no matter what. They really are superheroes in the
sense that they do extraordinary things every day and they always bring their
A game. They do things you just wouldn't think possible because of how much
they push themselves.

I've also seen what is described in the top article of this blog. When you see
someone pass and you see just how much was done to save them. Even a 90+ year
old person who at best would have a good year or two left, and I've seen
doctors pull out all the stops and work just as hard as they would anyone
else. The only difference is the patient is even more fragile at this stage.
Life is life and they get it.

I've seen people work and struggle when it was very clear things are over. CPR
that goes on long after the patient is past the point of no return. I've never
seen anyone "throw in the towel" too early and I've seen people push and fight
when everyone in the room knows what the outcome will be.

In short, everyone should read things like this and get a glimpse of this
perspective. I don't know what you can take from it, but it sure will make you
appreciate first responders and ER personnel more. At best it will make you
appreciate life more.

~~~
graeham
I'm a biomedical engineer and have been working with surgeons for a few years.
I'm always impressed with their perspective given the situation of surgery. To
the surgical team, its just another day in the office. To the person on the
table, it is one of the most important days in the life.

I have been fortunate enough to be invited into the OR to observe a few
surgeries. The first time, I was shocked at how casual the situation was to
the people involved. The atmosphere is more like a workshop than you see on TV
dramas involving surgeons (music playing, people chatting about what their
kids and weekends, etc. like told in the article).

But after thinking about it some more, this is the atmosphere that's needed.
Everyone is calm and collected, and not going to make a mistake from being
stressed out. Being stressed out at work every day simply isn't sustainable.
Some of these surgeries are tough jobs too, involving standing for hours in
awkward positions (which can lead to long-term injuries). These men and women
are true professionals - even on routine work they sacrifice their own comfort
and well-being for the welfare of their patients.

Agree that it is good to make the perspectives of the original article more
widely seen to appreciate what they do!

~~~
JeremyMorgan
You're absolutely right, that is what's needed. It's the same with the fire
service, you'll notice most firefighters are pretty calm but fast. This is
because of countless hours of training and building to make the men and women
involved think in a very calm, procedural fashion. It doesn't reduce the
gravitas of the situation but it's a situation where you know what you should
do because you've trained and/or done it so many times. I imagine with a
surgeon this is magnified many times over.

In Fire Academy they say "We want to train you so you there are so many things
you'll do automatically and not even think about. That way you don't panic and
also you can use the available thought power for the exceptions in the
situation, not the basics"

Also they want you prepared. "You never see a garbage man pull into a
neighborhood and say OH SH*T LOOK AT ALL THESE CANS!! HOW AM I GOING TO DO
THIS? because they're prepared for it and have a plan".

~~~
FireBeyond
Nice to meet a fellow firefighter here.

~~~
JeremyMorgan
Nice! yeah it's a bit rare. Is it just me are there a lot of parallels between
software and the fire service? haha.

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jamesaguilar
The first article about the guy who died during a hip replacement surgery (?).
It's terribly sad for everyone else, but when I go, that's one of the best
ways I can imagine it happening. You go down optimistic for a better future
where your hip is working again and just . . . never come back up.
Dramatically preferable to years of battling with cancer or a gradual dip into
dementia, at least for the victim. Especially if you've led a full life and
are only going to be here for a short time more anyway, as is often the case
with people who start breaking bones in old age. For the family, my heartfelt
condolences.

~~~
JeremyMorgan
I agree, everyone has to go and this way is preferable to suffering.

My dad had some health problems, and a few close calls in his last years. In
the end he fell asleep in his favorite spot in his chair watching television
and didn't come back. While it was one of the most heartbreaking things in our
lives, but I'm glad his final departure was peaceful and painless.

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johnpt
Wow, this is a really moving blog. It shows you their point of view.

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Lilme
Based on her writing style, it is a good thing she is going into medicine and
not journalism.

~~~
sscalia
Are you fucking kidding me? Her writing is outstanding. Sorry it has some
emotion, some reflection, some substance.

Would you prefer a log file of events?

Get real.

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antidaily
Med students don't know shit. And don't do shit. But I suppose it's still an
interesting perspective.

~~~
mikeyouse

        Shara Yurkiewicz is a fourth-year student at Harvard
        Medical School. She was an AAAS Mass Media Fellow, and
        her work has been published in the Los Angeles Times,
        Discover, and The Best Science Writing Online 2012. She
        is interested in medical ethics and has served as guest
        editor for the American Medical Association's ethics
        journal Virtual Mentor. She conducted ethics research
        at Harvard, Yale, and the Hastings Center and received
        a B.S. in biology from Yale.
    

4th year at Harvard Medical School, guest editor for AMA's ethics journal,
undergrad at Yale, I _think_ she's qualified to write a reflective / opinion-
based blog.

~~~
antidaily
[http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/are-med-school-
grad...](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/are-med-school-grads-
prepared-to-practice-medicine/?_php=true&_type=blogs&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0)

