Suppose someone gets a knife planted in his neck. If the knife punctured his lung and large airways, how long was the blade of the knife? I don’t know which part of the neck was stabbed. Being a layperson, I don’t even know, technically, where the neck begins and ends. But just assume the knife entered the neck at the place most convenient to hit a lung and large airways.
I’m back to lurking and I had to write this question down somewhere, so it landed here on my blog. No one should feel obligated to answer. But it would be nice to know whether it was a long knife, short knife, impossible to determine from the facts. . .
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
When A Blogger is Down
When I first started reading the medblogs, I enjoyed following the blogger’s life, but in a detached way. I didn’t expect that to change when I started my own blog. But it has changed. Right now, something is going on in MSG's life and even though we have never met, I feel frustrated that there is nothing I can do to help him. If it were one of my "real" world friends, I would have offered to baby-sit, taken dinner to his family, driven him to the airport, etc.
At first, the feelings of frustration were a little surprising considering MSG and I have never met and have only exchanged a few comments on each other’s blogs. But after thinking about it, I realized that the reason why I enjoy MGS’s blog so much is that he writes from his heart. I feel like I know him. And now I feel frustrated that the best I can do is leave a comment telling him how sorry I am for his loss.
At first, the feelings of frustration were a little surprising considering MSG and I have never met and have only exchanged a few comments on each other’s blogs. But after thinking about it, I realized that the reason why I enjoy MGS’s blog so much is that he writes from his heart. I feel like I know him. And now I feel frustrated that the best I can do is leave a comment telling him how sorry I am for his loss.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Are Surgeons Really Better Looking Than Other Doctors?
“Male surgeons are taller and more handsome than male physicians, according to a study in this week's (traditionally lighthearted) Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal.
Doctors at the University of Barcelona Hospital in Spain noticed that the tallest and most handsome male medical students were more likely to become surgeons, and that the shortest (and perhaps not so good looking) ones were more likely to become physicians.
Observers used the "good looking score" to classify each participant (ranging from 1, ugly to 7, very good looking). The results show that, on average, senior male surgeons are significantly taller and better looking than senior male physicians.”
See BMJ-British Medical Journal, Dec 2006; 333: 1291 – 1293.
I’ve already admitted I’m the researching type, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that when I saw this article, I immediately decided this was an important issue that needed further investigation. Are surgeons more good looking than other doctors?
I have really only known four doctors: my family doctor, my gyno, and most recently, a gastroenterologist and a general surgeon. In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that, despite going to him for years, I’ve never actually seen Dr. Gyno. During my visits with him, 80% of the visit is spent with my eyes tightly squeezed shut, and the other 20% of the visit is spent with me looking awkwardly down at my hands while mumbling unintelligible answers to his questions. But I’m still going to include him in my study.
Out of the four, I would have to say the surgeon is definitely the better looking. He is probably the second shortest of the four, but every time I saw him he was wearing scrubs (yum), so that scored him a few extra points. For some reason, after recently learning that some surgeons go commando in the OR, I had a hard time trying to decide whether he deserved to have points added or subtracted from his score on that basis.
I definitely needed more data, i.e. I needed to check out more doctors. As much as I would have liked to have done this in person, I just couldn’t see myself hanging around a hospital oogling men. Even for an important research project such as this one. Who am I kidding? Of course I could see myself doing that, and enjoying it immensely. Nevertheless, I just went to the website of a local hospital that provides photos of their doctors. (I only know about this because I was researching BF’s orthopedic surgeon for him.)
I saw the website as a kind of online sales catalogue listing each doctor’s specialty, medical school, and special interests: “Hi, my name is Dr. Jekyll. I am a general surgeon. I attended UTMB-Galveston. I enjoy Hernias, Gallbladders, and long walks along the beach” (ok, I added that last one). I noted that in some of the pictures, the doctors had placed their left hand on their chin, conveniently displaying their ring finger. Nice to know because I immediately deducted points for being married.
I clicked on five specialties, and started picking names at random. Three of the secretaries at work also acted as judges. I swear, I am not making this up, one surgeon’s picture looked like a DWI mugshot. The cutest guy we saw was an ENT doctor. He even beat out my surgeon. Thus, I’m not sure I can agree with the BMJ’s findings.
I think that if someone did a study like this in the medblog world, where doctors are read and not seen, you’d find ER doctors, not surgeons, at the top of the survey. They just seem like the bad boys of medicine. And I don’t need a survey to tell me that good girls are drawn to bad boys, or, in this case, their blogs. (Normally, I would really be embarrassed right now, but I don’t think I have to worry because I doubt any ER docs are going to be reading this.) Happy Holidays.
Doctors at the University of Barcelona Hospital in Spain noticed that the tallest and most handsome male medical students were more likely to become surgeons, and that the shortest (and perhaps not so good looking) ones were more likely to become physicians.
Observers used the "good looking score" to classify each participant (ranging from 1, ugly to 7, very good looking). The results show that, on average, senior male surgeons are significantly taller and better looking than senior male physicians.”
See BMJ-British Medical Journal, Dec 2006; 333: 1291 – 1293.
I’ve already admitted I’m the researching type, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that when I saw this article, I immediately decided this was an important issue that needed further investigation. Are surgeons more good looking than other doctors?
I have really only known four doctors: my family doctor, my gyno, and most recently, a gastroenterologist and a general surgeon. In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that, despite going to him for years, I’ve never actually seen Dr. Gyno. During my visits with him, 80% of the visit is spent with my eyes tightly squeezed shut, and the other 20% of the visit is spent with me looking awkwardly down at my hands while mumbling unintelligible answers to his questions. But I’m still going to include him in my study.
Out of the four, I would have to say the surgeon is definitely the better looking. He is probably the second shortest of the four, but every time I saw him he was wearing scrubs (yum), so that scored him a few extra points. For some reason, after recently learning that some surgeons go commando in the OR, I had a hard time trying to decide whether he deserved to have points added or subtracted from his score on that basis.
I definitely needed more data, i.e. I needed to check out more doctors. As much as I would have liked to have done this in person, I just couldn’t see myself hanging around a hospital oogling men. Even for an important research project such as this one. Who am I kidding? Of course I could see myself doing that, and enjoying it immensely. Nevertheless, I just went to the website of a local hospital that provides photos of their doctors. (I only know about this because I was researching BF’s orthopedic surgeon for him.)
I saw the website as a kind of online sales catalogue listing each doctor’s specialty, medical school, and special interests: “Hi, my name is Dr. Jekyll. I am a general surgeon. I attended UTMB-Galveston. I enjoy Hernias, Gallbladders, and long walks along the beach” (ok, I added that last one). I noted that in some of the pictures, the doctors had placed their left hand on their chin, conveniently displaying their ring finger. Nice to know because I immediately deducted points for being married.
I clicked on five specialties, and started picking names at random. Three of the secretaries at work also acted as judges. I swear, I am not making this up, one surgeon’s picture looked like a DWI mugshot. The cutest guy we saw was an ENT doctor. He even beat out my surgeon. Thus, I’m not sure I can agree with the BMJ’s findings.
I think that if someone did a study like this in the medblog world, where doctors are read and not seen, you’d find ER doctors, not surgeons, at the top of the survey. They just seem like the bad boys of medicine. And I don’t need a survey to tell me that good girls are drawn to bad boys, or, in this case, their blogs. (Normally, I would really be embarrassed right now, but I don’t think I have to worry because I doubt any ER docs are going to be reading this.) Happy Holidays.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Blogger Etiquette
I really do need to get a book on Blogger etiquette. I've been accused of being crass in the comment section of someone's blog. I know I've been vulgar and obnoxious, but I didn't know I was being crass. Geez, I knew I should have stuck to lurking. My apologies. It won't happen again.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
No mystery, sugar, it's called Technorati
From a comment by Dr. Flea in the Addicted to Medblogs Comments Section. November 15, 2006.
Thus began my education regarding “links”. Dr. Flea taught me that the people you link to have a way of finding out about your link. Gutless lurkers like me don't like that.
It has been gently suggested that I include links to the blogs that I write about. Some people want me to stop having blind items on my blog. I also received a hilarious, but filthy, now-deleted comment from someone ("Anonymous", my ass. I know who you are) telling me to start linking and stop having blind items.
After receiving some superior tutelage regarding links (who knew that little button on Blogger that said “insert link” was for linking other people’s posts?), I have no excuse for not including links on my blog.
Does that mean that I will always link to a post that I am writing about? No.
Being the gutless wonder that I am, I can’t. I won’t.
If I don’t link a post, it’s because
a. I don’t want the blogger to come to my blog, although I’m probably leaving a trail in some obvious way known to everyone but me. I’m gutless, so sue me.
b. I don’t want you to go to the blog I am referring to. There are some obscure blogs out there. I have never seen the bloggers’ names in the comment section of other blogs. There are few or no comments on their blogs. These are the juiciest blogs. I am afraid if they know I am reading, they will stop being so open. Ok, so I am gutless and selfish.
c. I find the blog “suspect”. There are a few out there that I think might be fakes. Written by someone with a medical background, but not a doctor. Yet. Or, I could just be full of crap. But in my defense, I spend a lot of time at work reading and responding to crap. I don’t analyze blogs the same way I analyze work related writings, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get that same feeling in my gut when I read a load of crap in a blog. (And Fake? General Surgeon, I hope that you stopped writing because of an increased surgical workload and not because I questioned your doctorhood.)
So, I will link to posts that I think will be of interest to someone (and whose author’s don’t scare me). And I won’t leave any more blind items.
And, please, if I write about a blog, I am not endorsing its content. What do I know? I’m just a lawyer.
Last blind item ever: You are still my favorite blogger and one of your posts last week and your post today made me an even bigger fan, if that is possible.
Update: Sometimes I don't link just because I'm lazy.
Thus began my education regarding “links”. Dr. Flea taught me that the people you link to have a way of finding out about your link. Gutless lurkers like me don't like that.
It has been gently suggested that I include links to the blogs that I write about. Some people want me to stop having blind items on my blog. I also received a hilarious, but filthy, now-deleted comment from someone ("Anonymous", my ass. I know who you are) telling me to start linking and stop having blind items.
After receiving some superior tutelage regarding links (who knew that little button on Blogger that said “insert link” was for linking other people’s posts?), I have no excuse for not including links on my blog.
Does that mean that I will always link to a post that I am writing about? No.
Being the gutless wonder that I am, I can’t. I won’t.
If I don’t link a post, it’s because
a. I don’t want the blogger to come to my blog, although I’m probably leaving a trail in some obvious way known to everyone but me. I’m gutless, so sue me.
b. I don’t want you to go to the blog I am referring to. There are some obscure blogs out there. I have never seen the bloggers’ names in the comment section of other blogs. There are few or no comments on their blogs. These are the juiciest blogs. I am afraid if they know I am reading, they will stop being so open. Ok, so I am gutless and selfish.
c. I find the blog “suspect”. There are a few out there that I think might be fakes. Written by someone with a medical background, but not a doctor. Yet. Or, I could just be full of crap. But in my defense, I spend a lot of time at work reading and responding to crap. I don’t analyze blogs the same way I analyze work related writings, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get that same feeling in my gut when I read a load of crap in a blog. (And Fake? General Surgeon, I hope that you stopped writing because of an increased surgical workload and not because I questioned your doctorhood.)
So, I will link to posts that I think will be of interest to someone (and whose author’s don’t scare me). And I won’t leave any more blind items.
And, please, if I write about a blog, I am not endorsing its content. What do I know? I’m just a lawyer.
Last blind item ever: You are still my favorite blogger and one of your posts last week and your post today made me an even bigger fan, if that is possible.
Update: Sometimes I don't link just because I'm lazy.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Weird: My First and Last Response to A Meme
I used to see these things on blogs called memes and think to myself, boy, I am glad I am a lurker and don’t have to participate in those things. But now I have been tagged by Frectis. According to the rules: Each player of this game starts with the “6 Weird Things About You”. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state the rule clearly. After you’re done, tag six people by listing them on your blog and leaving a note in their comments section.
Let me start by saying this. I set this blog up in July but didn’t get the courage to write anything until October. Right now, I delete half of what I post and, in the remaining posts, I am usually apologizing about something I just wrote. I'm not sure I can reveal six weird things about myself on this blog. But I don’t want to offend my new blogger friend Frectis, so I am going to try.
1. I think the fact that I have this blog is a little weird. I am fascinated by your jobs as healthcare professionals. I want to know what your job is; what it entails, how you learned to do it; why you do it; whether you like it. I want to know about your relationships with your co-workers; how your job affects your personal life, etc. And let me just take this opportunity now to thank you for letting me, a clueless layperson, have a glimpse into your world.
2. I can’t keep an ATM card. Tonight I just activated my 4th card this year. The first card was left in the bank’s ATM machine (grabbed the cash, left the card). The second card was in my purse that got stolen. (Free advice, always take your purse with you. Do not try to hide your purse by stuffing it under the seat, even if it is broad daylight, you are parked in front of a ritzy dress shop in the rich neighborhood, and you’re only going to be in there a few minutes.) Third card, don’t know where it is.
3. My nails (fingers and toes) must be perfectly manicured at all times. I hate it when they don't look nice. I never wear nail polish on my fingernails; they are always buffed. Toenails are always a shade of red; never any other color. And since I never mastered the art of the home manicure, I spend an inordinate amount of time and money at the “Nail Place”.
4. The place where I work is kind of weird. Today, junior partner stops by my office, tells me to meet him in the conference room, then heads in the opposite direction. I see this as an opportunity to make a pit stop, so I head for the ladies room. Right when I get to the restroom door, junior partner, in the lobby surrounded by other attorneys, yells out “Hey M.A., I didn’t mean that conference room, I meant the other conference room.” If he had been alone, I would have flipped him off.
5. I've been told I have weird eating habits. Tonight I was on my own for dinner. It consisted of half a pint of Haagen Dazs strawberry ice cream, eaten in bed while I watched Survivor. The weirdest part is, I had been happily looking forward to doing this all day and couldn't wait to get home.
6. I am deathly afraid of turtles, large or small. I’m not too comfortable around clowns either.
I just don't have the heart to tag anyone else. But please feel free to list all of your weird traits in the comment section. I mean, it's only fair.
I think I am going to go visit Dr. Dinah at Shrink Rap now.
Update: A Lurker's Dream Come True
I think I have been banned from making comments on other people's blogs (I apologized, what more do you want from me?). Or else I'm having technical difficulties. Blogger won't let me log into the comment section of other blogs.
Let me start by saying this. I set this blog up in July but didn’t get the courage to write anything until October. Right now, I delete half of what I post and, in the remaining posts, I am usually apologizing about something I just wrote. I'm not sure I can reveal six weird things about myself on this blog. But I don’t want to offend my new blogger friend Frectis, so I am going to try.
1. I think the fact that I have this blog is a little weird. I am fascinated by your jobs as healthcare professionals. I want to know what your job is; what it entails, how you learned to do it; why you do it; whether you like it. I want to know about your relationships with your co-workers; how your job affects your personal life, etc. And let me just take this opportunity now to thank you for letting me, a clueless layperson, have a glimpse into your world.
2. I can’t keep an ATM card. Tonight I just activated my 4th card this year. The first card was left in the bank’s ATM machine (grabbed the cash, left the card). The second card was in my purse that got stolen. (Free advice, always take your purse with you. Do not try to hide your purse by stuffing it under the seat, even if it is broad daylight, you are parked in front of a ritzy dress shop in the rich neighborhood, and you’re only going to be in there a few minutes.) Third card, don’t know where it is.
3. My nails (fingers and toes) must be perfectly manicured at all times. I hate it when they don't look nice. I never wear nail polish on my fingernails; they are always buffed. Toenails are always a shade of red; never any other color. And since I never mastered the art of the home manicure, I spend an inordinate amount of time and money at the “Nail Place”.
4. The place where I work is kind of weird. Today, junior partner stops by my office, tells me to meet him in the conference room, then heads in the opposite direction. I see this as an opportunity to make a pit stop, so I head for the ladies room. Right when I get to the restroom door, junior partner, in the lobby surrounded by other attorneys, yells out “Hey M.A., I didn’t mean that conference room, I meant the other conference room.” If he had been alone, I would have flipped him off.
5. I've been told I have weird eating habits. Tonight I was on my own for dinner. It consisted of half a pint of Haagen Dazs strawberry ice cream, eaten in bed while I watched Survivor. The weirdest part is, I had been happily looking forward to doing this all day and couldn't wait to get home.
6. I am deathly afraid of turtles, large or small. I’m not too comfortable around clowns either.
I just don't have the heart to tag anyone else. But please feel free to list all of your weird traits in the comment section. I mean, it's only fair.
I think I am going to go visit Dr. Dinah at Shrink Rap now.
Update: A Lurker's Dream Come True
I think I have been banned from making comments on other people's blogs (I apologized, what more do you want from me?). Or else I'm having technical difficulties. Blogger won't let me log into the comment section of other blogs.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
No Answer Expected
I just read on a doctor’s blog that “. . . there is a generally accepted rule that one surgeon does not clean up another surgeon's mess. It's a bad idea for many reasons not the least of which is a liability one.”
How many chances does one give a surgeon to clean up his own mess?
I don’t expect an answer.
I'm not really picking on surgeons. I'm just in that kind of mood.
How many chances does one give a surgeon to clean up his own mess?
I don’t expect an answer.
I'm not really picking on surgeons. I'm just in that kind of mood.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Further Wandering Through the Medblogs
I’ve been in a little bit of a medblog rut lately. Not that I wasn’t enjoying my regular reads, I was just craving a little variety. So I ventured outside the U.S. and found me a med student, an ER doc, and I think a surgeon, but I'm not sure.
I don’t know anything about the UK (except for Celebdaq, which is what occupied my time at work before I discovered the medblogs), so I don’t understand half of what these guys are talking about. But I love the way they turn a phrase. Plus they can be kind of moody and dark.
The Angry Medic is a medical student at Cambridge. Very enjoyable reading, but I will be more interested in his take on the upcoming "The Apprentice".
Dr. Shroom is an ER doctor. I read him so I know what colour I don’t want to be, i.e., blue, yellow, parchment white.
Hospital Phoenix is a surgeon (I think), unemployed at the moment. Damn NHS (whatever the hell that is). If you are offended by Nurse Quacktitioner, you’d better skip this one.
What I agonized over whether to delete or leave in this post: ["I thought I was developing a little crush on one of these guys, but reconsidered after reading a headline declaring there was a serial killer on the loose in England. With my track record . . ."]
In case you ever wanted to know what lawyers talk about while eating birthday cake in the conference room:
1. Dead rock stars
2. Autoerotic asphyxiation
3. Rising property taxes.
Note to HospitalPhoenix: I am going to miss you and nurse quack.
I don’t know anything about the UK (except for Celebdaq, which is what occupied my time at work before I discovered the medblogs), so I don’t understand half of what these guys are talking about. But I love the way they turn a phrase. Plus they can be kind of moody and dark.
The Angry Medic is a medical student at Cambridge. Very enjoyable reading, but I will be more interested in his take on the upcoming "The Apprentice".
Dr. Shroom is an ER doctor. I read him so I know what colour I don’t want to be, i.e., blue, yellow, parchment white.
Hospital Phoenix is a surgeon (I think), unemployed at the moment. Damn NHS (whatever the hell that is). If you are offended by Nurse Quacktitioner, you’d better skip this one.
What I agonized over whether to delete or leave in this post: ["I thought I was developing a little crush on one of these guys, but reconsidered after reading a headline declaring there was a serial killer on the loose in England. With my track record . . ."]
In case you ever wanted to know what lawyers talk about while eating birthday cake in the conference room:
1. Dead rock stars
2. Autoerotic asphyxiation
3. Rising property taxes.
Note to HospitalPhoenix: I am going to miss you and nurse quack.
Friday, December 08, 2006
The Medblog Superstore - Updated
I cannot believe I have been reading the medblogs for months and I am just now discovering Kevin.MD feeds. It is like a cornucopia of medblogs. All of my favorite medblogs are listed with their most recent posts. Now I don’t have to go to each blog to see if they have been updated. I am going to be able to peruse twice as many medblogs in the same amount of time. Why did it take me so long to discover this? Plus it includes mednewsblogs. I found something called MSNBC “Sexploration”. It is sex, humor and information all wrapped up into one blog. And you don’t feel sleazy reading it. Because it’s news, right?
Now that I discovered Kevin.MD feeds, I’m not sure when I will find time to write. Which reminds me, Dr. Schwab, would you mind if I did a post that contains nothing but comments you have left on other people’s blogs? Sometimes you can be really funny.
This blogging thing is starting to get out of hand. I am way too excited about discovering the KevinMD feeds. I think I see a visit to one of Dr. A’s BA meetings in my future. Maybe not. This is probably just the addict talking, but I think blogging has helped my writing at work. Really.
Update: I seem to be getting a lot of hits to my Medblog Superstore post. Maybe it’s because it’s the holiday season and people are looking for gifts. I don’t know, but I feel like I am disappointing people because they came to my blog looking to buy something and I have nothing to sell (this is when I am not feeling like I’m disappointing people when they come to my blog looking for a well-written entertaining post).
Anyway, here is a website that sells medical t-shirts. I think part of the proceeds go to charity. I haven’t bought a t-shirt yet, but I am thinking about it. This is just a suggestion, not an endorsement.
If you are looking for a good book about surgeons and surgery, you might want to check out Dr. Schwab's book.
Okay, I swear, this will be the last time I ever hawk stuff on my blog.
If you are a medblog fan looking for a well-written, entertaining post, go here. I promise, it's free.
Now that I discovered Kevin.MD feeds, I’m not sure when I will find time to write. Which reminds me, Dr. Schwab, would you mind if I did a post that contains nothing but comments you have left on other people’s blogs? Sometimes you can be really funny.
This blogging thing is starting to get out of hand. I am way too excited about discovering the KevinMD feeds. I think I see a visit to one of Dr. A’s BA meetings in my future. Maybe not. This is probably just the addict talking, but I think blogging has helped my writing at work. Really.
Update: I seem to be getting a lot of hits to my Medblog Superstore post. Maybe it’s because it’s the holiday season and people are looking for gifts. I don’t know, but I feel like I am disappointing people because they came to my blog looking to buy something and I have nothing to sell (this is when I am not feeling like I’m disappointing people when they come to my blog looking for a well-written entertaining post).
Anyway, here is a website that sells medical t-shirts. I think part of the proceeds go to charity. I haven’t bought a t-shirt yet, but I am thinking about it. This is just a suggestion, not an endorsement.
If you are looking for a good book about surgeons and surgery, you might want to check out Dr. Schwab's book.
Okay, I swear, this will be the last time I ever hawk stuff on my blog.
If you are a medblog fan looking for a well-written, entertaining post, go here. I promise, it's free.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
To Be Deleted - updated
I am not sure why I feel the need to apologize for what I write on my own blog, but I do. Probably the same reason I have banned myself from commenting on other people’s blogs. So, my apologies to anyone who stumbles on this personal, tmi temper tantrum.
I had a bad day at work. I hate every single one of the pompous, tiny prick, rat bastard attorneys that I work with. And while we are on the subject. I hate being the token female who is trotted out every time a new potential bank client asks about diversity.
Good news is, I left work early. Bad news is, I left early so I could get ready to spend the evening with a bunch of old fart trial attorneys. Btw, Boyfriend is an old fart trial attorney. He told me to behave myself tonight. Jerk.
I am running behind schedule, which means I will get the 15 minute lecture in the car about how I am an inconsiderate, unorganized, brat. He will be correct on all three points, but nobody likes to be reminded of it.
Bright part of the night. I will be wearing a new dress and new shoes. Plus, he said that there would be crab on the menu tonight. But now that I think about it, he may have been referring to his mood. I hope it is the former and not the latter.
Plus, I apologize to all of the old fart attorneys that I may have offended out there.
Update -- There were crab fingers and jumbo shrimp! Plus a bartender who made a great Long Island Iced Tea. Best of all, we left at 9:00. Thanks for the comments.
I had a bad day at work. I hate every single one of the pompous, tiny prick, rat bastard attorneys that I work with. And while we are on the subject. I hate being the token female who is trotted out every time a new potential bank client asks about diversity.
Good news is, I left work early. Bad news is, I left early so I could get ready to spend the evening with a bunch of old fart trial attorneys. Btw, Boyfriend is an old fart trial attorney. He told me to behave myself tonight. Jerk.
I am running behind schedule, which means I will get the 15 minute lecture in the car about how I am an inconsiderate, unorganized, brat. He will be correct on all three points, but nobody likes to be reminded of it.
Bright part of the night. I will be wearing a new dress and new shoes. Plus, he said that there would be crab on the menu tonight. But now that I think about it, he may have been referring to his mood. I hope it is the former and not the latter.
Plus, I apologize to all of the old fart attorneys that I may have offended out there.
Update -- There were crab fingers and jumbo shrimp! Plus a bartender who made a great Long Island Iced Tea. Best of all, we left at 9:00. Thanks for the comments.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
It Was Just A Joke
If you are here because of the comment I wrote on a certain medblog: I was just kidding. Really. I promise. Please don’t leave hateful, lawyer-bashing comments. If I didn’t have a sense of humor about these things, I wouldn’t have linked to this embarrassing deposition.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Identity Crisis
My safe, secure, anonymous blog world was rocked last week: My blog was “outed” by #1 Dinosaur; GruntDoc linked to one of my posts; and I was added to the blogroll of Kevin, MD. Referrals from each of you have quadruplified my hits. Now the pressure to perform is killing me. I’ve resorted to posts about law related topics!! That has got to say something about my current state of mind.
Okay, would anybody be interested in reading the letter I am writing right now to my client about the status of his case? It’s all I got.
Addendum: This shows how stupid I am. I just learned that I have been blogrolled by others besides the forementioned blog. Thank you everyone. I am trying to start a blogroll. Dr. Flea has one of those buttons that looks like all you have to do is push it and he's blogrolled. I am trying to work up the courage to push his button. Get it? Never mind.
Okay, would anybody be interested in reading the letter I am writing right now to my client about the status of his case? It’s all I got.
Addendum: This shows how stupid I am. I just learned that I have been blogrolled by others besides the forementioned blog. Thank you everyone. I am trying to start a blogroll. Dr. Flea has one of those buttons that looks like all you have to do is push it and he's blogrolled. I am trying to work up the courage to push his button. Get it? Never mind.
Medblawg Moment
I said I wasn't going to go legal on this blog, but since a lot of the doctors are writing about their litigation experiences, I thought I would give you the opportunity to see what happens in a deposition. This is just a short video clip from an expert witness deposition that was making the rounds a few months ago. We thought it was pretty funny. The offscreen attorney is a well known plaintiffs lawyer: deposition
Monday, December 04, 2006
I Refuse to Put This In Your Comment Section
Today, we had a working lunch. I printed out a copy of your latest post and put it in one of the files I was reviewing, just in case I had some time to kill. I get a few minutes alone, so I start reading. Everything is okay until the last paragraph and the picture. I was trying so hard not to laugh, but I couldn’t help it. Tears were actually rolling down my cheeks. Right about then, junior partner comes in with another stack of files for me to review. There was no way in hell I was going to let him think I was crying. And I couldn’t show him what I was reading (one, client was paying for our lunch and time; two, I didn’t know if it was really that funny). So I told him I had allergies. Allergies that appeared out of nowhere and cleared up after I went to the ladies room to redo my make-up. You’re a doctor (I think). Can allergies come and go that quickly? If not, I will need a better excuse for next time. Because, damn it, I know there will be a next time.
So I Bought Four Books About Surgery. Does That Make Me A Nut?
Okay, maybe it does. I don’t know. There's a reason I avoid the psych blogs.
I have a choice. I can either delete the Nov. 26 post and pretend it never happened. Or I can reveal why I read four books on surgeons and surgery. I'll talk. I am a researcher. If I have a question, or take an interest in something, I research it. I’ve always been that way. It’s one of the reasons I became a lawyer. Lots of reading.
Immediately after my surgery, I didn’t really give my surgeon much thought. For some reason, I was more impressed with the anesthesiologist. It wasn’t until a few weeks after my surgery that it hit me. A man had taken a knife, cut me open, reached inside of me and removed one of my organs, then closed me back up. What kind of man has the cojones to do that? Thus began my research project.
I wanted to know how a surgeon was made. How you took a kid and gave him the confidence to make that initial cut into another living human being. I not only wanted to know about the training, I wanted to know what it felt like to make that first cut. Was it scary? Did his hands shake? Did he hold his breath? Then I wanted to know how/if a surgeon ever got comfortable operating. Was there a difference between operation #50 and operation #500. I had a hundred questions that I wanted answers to. Since I didn’t know any doctors on a personal basis, and I hadn't yet discovered the medblogs, I went to Amazon.com. I typed in “surgeon” and ended up ordering these three books:
1. The Making of a Surgeon by William A. Nolan;
2. The Making of a Surgeon in the 21st Century by Craig A. Miller;
3. Hot Lights, Cold Steel: Life, Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon's First Years by Michael J. Collins.
I read each book, cover to cover. Let's just say, they only left me wanting more...So what did I do?
I have a choice. I can either delete the Nov. 26 post and pretend it never happened. Or I can reveal why I read four books on surgeons and surgery. I'll talk. I am a researcher. If I have a question, or take an interest in something, I research it. I’ve always been that way. It’s one of the reasons I became a lawyer. Lots of reading.
Immediately after my surgery, I didn’t really give my surgeon much thought. For some reason, I was more impressed with the anesthesiologist. It wasn’t until a few weeks after my surgery that it hit me. A man had taken a knife, cut me open, reached inside of me and removed one of my organs, then closed me back up. What kind of man has the cojones to do that? Thus began my research project.
I wanted to know how a surgeon was made. How you took a kid and gave him the confidence to make that initial cut into another living human being. I not only wanted to know about the training, I wanted to know what it felt like to make that first cut. Was it scary? Did his hands shake? Did he hold his breath? Then I wanted to know how/if a surgeon ever got comfortable operating. Was there a difference between operation #50 and operation #500. I had a hundred questions that I wanted answers to. Since I didn’t know any doctors on a personal basis, and I hadn't yet discovered the medblogs, I went to Amazon.com. I typed in “surgeon” and ended up ordering these three books:
1. The Making of a Surgeon by William A. Nolan;
2. The Making of a Surgeon in the 21st Century by Craig A. Miller;
3. Hot Lights, Cold Steel: Life, Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon's First Years by Michael J. Collins.
I read each book, cover to cover. Let's just say, they only left me wanting more...So what did I do?
Friday, December 01, 2006
Wandering Again - Updated
I have to admit, I don’t visit this medblog very often. I don't think I am part of his target audience. But this post was so clever and funny, I had to say something. And, of course, being a lurker and not a commenter, I am saying it here.
It is about resuscitating his pager after it falls into the toilet. As usual, I can’t link it correctly, so I am trying this: Code Blue. His other posts are funny too.
Other random thoughts after my latest trip through the medblogs:
1. I think I am going to have to change my name to Medblawg Addict. My new hero is Anonymous on Scalpel or Sword. He/she sticks up for lawyers without sounding like an unreasonable prick. There will be no legal discussions here. If I wanted that, I would just go sit down in someone else’s office and appear interested.
2. I finally got to read Change of Shift today. I learned a long time ago not to read the nurses’ blogs at work during the week. Those nurses can write. And they can make me cry in a heartbeat. They can also bitch (and I mean that in a good way). I read more posts off of Change of Shift than Grand Rounds now.
3. Comment I wish I had left on a medblog: “Damn, you’re a tease.”
It is about resuscitating his pager after it falls into the toilet. As usual, I can’t link it correctly, so I am trying this: Code Blue. His other posts are funny too.
Other random thoughts after my latest trip through the medblogs:
1. I think I am going to have to change my name to Medblawg Addict. My new hero is Anonymous on Scalpel or Sword. He/she sticks up for lawyers without sounding like an unreasonable prick. There will be no legal discussions here. If I wanted that, I would just go sit down in someone else’s office and appear interested.
2. I finally got to read Change of Shift today. I learned a long time ago not to read the nurses’ blogs at work during the week. Those nurses can write. And they can make me cry in a heartbeat. They can also bitch (and I mean that in a good way). I read more posts off of Change of Shift than Grand Rounds now.
3. Comment I wish I had left on a medblog: “Damn, you’re a tease.”
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