A half weeks full of updates...
Its been a few days. (Hi Dad! I'm still alive! :-p) This week I've been in cardiology, peds, hem/onc, and radiology so far.
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The oncologist has double piles of new (probably "meant to be read") journals and books on his desk. Each are about a foot and a half tall. This is, of course, in addition to his two full sized bookcases full of reference books.
Staring at this amount of information I felt a whole bunch of different things: overwhelmed, overwhelmed, fearful, excited, and hopeful. It is awesome that research continues into new areas to help either improve patient care or find new drugs/treatments for all kinds of different diseases. While his stack of journals was impressive, it really represented just ONE small field within a larger one. This makes me hopeful that we'll keep doing better. It also overwhelms me, because the amount of stuff that I have to learn is HUGE. And, even if I learn EVERY thing they try to cram into me now perfectly (yeah right), there will be three feet of new information to sort through. That is daunting.
***
The other thing, that feels somehow related, is the feeling I get from some of these big medical centers and hospitals, etc...the commercialization of medicine. Walking into some of these places feels chillingly like going to a building full of beauty salons or a shopping mall sometimes. There is one medical plaza in particular here that has a long hall, lined with plants and metal benches, with rows of doctors offices on either side. The names are listed, sign-like above each alcove. It reminds me of the old malls that were built to feel like they were outside, that were supposed to be inviting with their skylights and clean whites.
***
Radiology is pretty cool these days. The images that we can get of the inside of the body, and the three dimensional studies are just awesome. Also, radiology is particularly fun right now, since I've actually HAD anatomy and neuroanatomy, which is the bulk of what you need to be able to look at the studies and at least understand if they are normal or not (even if you don't know the terms for HOW they might be abnormal). It was fun to be quizzed and actually have some of the answers in my head. Plus the doc bought me coffee and a muffin, and the office happened to have an awesome lunch today. Which, as I hear, are some of the perks of radiology. On the other hand, the office was so cold, I may have gotten pneumonia.
***
The oncologist has double piles of new (probably "meant to be read") journals and books on his desk. Each are about a foot and a half tall. This is, of course, in addition to his two full sized bookcases full of reference books.
Staring at this amount of information I felt a whole bunch of different things: overwhelmed, overwhelmed, fearful, excited, and hopeful. It is awesome that research continues into new areas to help either improve patient care or find new drugs/treatments for all kinds of different diseases. While his stack of journals was impressive, it really represented just ONE small field within a larger one. This makes me hopeful that we'll keep doing better. It also overwhelms me, because the amount of stuff that I have to learn is HUGE. And, even if I learn EVERY thing they try to cram into me now perfectly (yeah right), there will be three feet of new information to sort through. That is daunting.
***
The other thing, that feels somehow related, is the feeling I get from some of these big medical centers and hospitals, etc...the commercialization of medicine. Walking into some of these places feels chillingly like going to a building full of beauty salons or a shopping mall sometimes. There is one medical plaza in particular here that has a long hall, lined with plants and metal benches, with rows of doctors offices on either side. The names are listed, sign-like above each alcove. It reminds me of the old malls that were built to feel like they were outside, that were supposed to be inviting with their skylights and clean whites.
***
Radiology is pretty cool these days. The images that we can get of the inside of the body, and the three dimensional studies are just awesome. Also, radiology is particularly fun right now, since I've actually HAD anatomy and neuroanatomy, which is the bulk of what you need to be able to look at the studies and at least understand if they are normal or not (even if you don't know the terms for HOW they might be abnormal). It was fun to be quizzed and actually have some of the answers in my head. Plus the doc bought me coffee and a muffin, and the office happened to have an awesome lunch today. Which, as I hear, are some of the perks of radiology. On the other hand, the office was so cold, I may have gotten pneumonia.