Well readers here is the saga from my most recent all night stand:
a - pedestrian versus car
b - multiple stab wounds including zone 1 neck exploration
c - single driver roll over
d- fall with cervical fracture
e- lower GI bleed
f- incarcerated incisional hernia
g - head - on with dislocated elbow
h- unbelted passenger, pneumothorax
i - GSW to chest.
Spent most of the time in the OR and ER.
Lots of unit patients now.
Good experience for the residents.
All my best from the JediMaster
Monday, August 08, 2005
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Music & Surgery
A little melody with surgery
Music helps relax doctors and can be good for patients
By Peggy O'Farrell
Enquirer staff writer
WORDS AND MUSIC
"Every now and then someone will say, 'Anything but Buffett when they walk in my room. And I say, 'That's what we play on Tuesday,' which is not a day when I operate."Dr. Dan Reilly, hand and shoulder surgeon, Hand Surgery Specialists Inc., and Good Samaritan Hospital "I always ask teenagers or kids who are going to be awake if they want to bring in music. And if I'm not operating on their head or neck, they'll put on headphones and listen to music I probably wouldn't want to listen to."Dr. John Kitzmiller, plastic surgeon, University of Cincinnati, and a fan of jazz and classical music "My collection is very eclectic, but with a strong preference toward things you can sing along with, myself included. One of my nurses will say, 'Who sings this song?' And I'll say, 'Billy Joel,' and he'll say, 'Keep it that way.'"Dr. Charles Mehlman, pediatric orthopedic surgeon, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center "When the (music) study was published, I got a lot of responses from younger surgeons who wanted to tell me their favorite songs. The funniest I remember is a song by Don McLean, 'Everybody Loves Me Baby, So What's the Matter With You?' "Dr. Karen Allen, psychologist and researcher, State University of New York-Buffalo "Anesthesiologists seem to like blues and jazz a little more. I think they're just a little bit mellower than the rest of us."Dr. Mark Thomas, transplant surgeon, the Health Alliance "Hopefully (Luther Vandross and Barry White) have helped other people get pregnant without our help, so we're trying to use them to our patients' advantage."Dr. Michael Thomas, fertility specialist, Reproductive Health Center
ADVERTISEMENT
Dr. Jennifer Butterfield can't cure "Boogie Fever." But the Kenwood plastic surgeon will operate to it.
While most patients are asleep and don't hear it, music is just as much a part of the operating room environment as beeping monitors and surgeons barking orders for instruments.
Surgeons say music - classical, country, rock, even disco - helps them concentrate. That's important for people who are working with scalpels, lasers and vital organs.
"There are a lot of OR sounds that have no meaning for the operating surgeon," says Butterfield, who's partial to old-school R&B. "It's almost like really loud white noise. Music takes away from the background noise that's too distracting."
Research shows patients benefit
There's plenty of research that says music is good for patients: It relieves stress, eases the perception of pain, even triggers memory in people with Alzheimer's.
Some studies show music is good for surgeons - ideally, that translates to music being just as good for the patient on the table, who, if anaesthetized, can't hear it.
Dr. Karen Allen, a psychologist at the State University of New York-Buffalo, asked surgeons to perform nonmedical tasks while listening to music and monitored their heart rate and blood pressure while they worked.
"When they chose the music, regardless of what kind of music it was, they performed better," Allen says. "When someone else picked the music, they did worse. It might have something to do with the personality of most surgeons. There's a big control factor there. And we were told by several surgeons that the OR is not a democracy."
When Dr. Dan Reilly operates, the other members of the surgical team get a vote on the day's musical selections.
"But it's like with my kids at home. Their vote doesn't count," he says.
In Reilly's operating room, you'll usually hear Jimmy Buffett in the background.
Reilly, a hand and shoulder surgeon with Hand Surgery Specialists Inc. and Good Samaritan Hospital, has about 8½ hours of Buffett - no songs repeated - on his iPod. He also likes classic rock.
"Despite what my nurses think, I do have a wide variety of music, but it's all from 20 years ago, 'cause that's when they quit making good music," he says.
It's all Sinatra, all the time, when Dr. Howard Melvin, an eye surgeon at Good Samaritan Hospital, is in the operating room.
"I need something relaxing. I do very intense surgery," he says.
Some days, Dr. Robert Bohinski wants to hear Mozart in the operating room. Other days, only Guns N' Roses will do.
"Sometimes it just depends on what team we have that day, whether it's an older team or a younger team," says Bohinski, a neurosurgeon at University Hospital. "Usually it's just a gut feeling."
When things aren't going well or the surgeon needs complete concentration, the music gets turned off.
"For the delicate parts of brain surgery when we're under the microscope, I don't listen to music. It's too distracting. When I'm resecting a deep brain tumor, I need to focus," Bohinski says.
Dr. Charles Mehlman, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, chooses music according to the intensity of the procedure.
"When there's serious stuff, there's serious music," Mehlman says. "For the more routine stuff, it can be more fun music, like Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra."
Dr. Michael Thomas, a fertility specialist and director of the Center for Reproductive Health at St. Luke's West, listens to everything from Heart and James Taylor to Arrested Development and Maroon 5.
He likes driving rock beats, like Bruce Springsteen, for clearing fallopian tubes "so you can blast out all that endometriosis," he says.
And during infertility surgeries and embryo implantations, you'll hear Luther Vandross and Barry White crooning and breathing heavy.
"They've helped other people get pregnant without our help, so we're trying to use them to our patients' advantage during the procedures," he says.
There are two people in the operating room besides the surgeon who get input on music.
One is the patient. If they're going to be awake for the procedure, they can bring in their own music or choose from the surgeon's collection. They also can choose the music they'd like to hear while they're going to sleep.
The other is the anesthesiologist, who at least gets to order the music turned down or off while he or she listens for the patient's vital signs.
"It has to be soft enough they can hear the patient's heartbeat," Reilly says. "But they do have a stethoscope they can stick in their ear."
Dr. William Hurford, chairman of the department of anesthesiology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, compares OR music to background music in department stores.
"We can basically block it out and listen to the patient and the monitors," he says.
Hurford, incidentally, likes quiet jazz.
Mehlman lets his patients' parents choose the music that will be played during their children's surgeries.
Mehlman also lets teammates choose songs when it's time to close - the operation is done and it's time to stitch everything up.
"Closing music is where it's at," he says. "The intense, scary, dangerous part is over, and you're changing gears."
E-mail pofarrell@enquirer.com
Print Go back Copyright 2005, The Enquirer
Music helps relax doctors and can be good for patients
By Peggy O'Farrell
Enquirer staff writer
WORDS AND MUSIC
"Every now and then someone will say, 'Anything but Buffett when they walk in my room. And I say, 'That's what we play on Tuesday,' which is not a day when I operate."Dr. Dan Reilly, hand and shoulder surgeon, Hand Surgery Specialists Inc., and Good Samaritan Hospital "I always ask teenagers or kids who are going to be awake if they want to bring in music. And if I'm not operating on their head or neck, they'll put on headphones and listen to music I probably wouldn't want to listen to."Dr. John Kitzmiller, plastic surgeon, University of Cincinnati, and a fan of jazz and classical music "My collection is very eclectic, but with a strong preference toward things you can sing along with, myself included. One of my nurses will say, 'Who sings this song?' And I'll say, 'Billy Joel,' and he'll say, 'Keep it that way.'"Dr. Charles Mehlman, pediatric orthopedic surgeon, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center "When the (music) study was published, I got a lot of responses from younger surgeons who wanted to tell me their favorite songs. The funniest I remember is a song by Don McLean, 'Everybody Loves Me Baby, So What's the Matter With You?' "Dr. Karen Allen, psychologist and researcher, State University of New York-Buffalo "Anesthesiologists seem to like blues and jazz a little more. I think they're just a little bit mellower than the rest of us."Dr. Mark Thomas, transplant surgeon, the Health Alliance "Hopefully (Luther Vandross and Barry White) have helped other people get pregnant without our help, so we're trying to use them to our patients' advantage."Dr. Michael Thomas, fertility specialist, Reproductive Health Center
ADVERTISEMENT
Dr. Jennifer Butterfield can't cure "Boogie Fever." But the Kenwood plastic surgeon will operate to it.
While most patients are asleep and don't hear it, music is just as much a part of the operating room environment as beeping monitors and surgeons barking orders for instruments.
Surgeons say music - classical, country, rock, even disco - helps them concentrate. That's important for people who are working with scalpels, lasers and vital organs.
"There are a lot of OR sounds that have no meaning for the operating surgeon," says Butterfield, who's partial to old-school R&B. "It's almost like really loud white noise. Music takes away from the background noise that's too distracting."
Research shows patients benefit
There's plenty of research that says music is good for patients: It relieves stress, eases the perception of pain, even triggers memory in people with Alzheimer's.
Some studies show music is good for surgeons - ideally, that translates to music being just as good for the patient on the table, who, if anaesthetized, can't hear it.
Dr. Karen Allen, a psychologist at the State University of New York-Buffalo, asked surgeons to perform nonmedical tasks while listening to music and monitored their heart rate and blood pressure while they worked.
"When they chose the music, regardless of what kind of music it was, they performed better," Allen says. "When someone else picked the music, they did worse. It might have something to do with the personality of most surgeons. There's a big control factor there. And we were told by several surgeons that the OR is not a democracy."
When Dr. Dan Reilly operates, the other members of the surgical team get a vote on the day's musical selections.
"But it's like with my kids at home. Their vote doesn't count," he says.
In Reilly's operating room, you'll usually hear Jimmy Buffett in the background.
Reilly, a hand and shoulder surgeon with Hand Surgery Specialists Inc. and Good Samaritan Hospital, has about 8½ hours of Buffett - no songs repeated - on his iPod. He also likes classic rock.
"Despite what my nurses think, I do have a wide variety of music, but it's all from 20 years ago, 'cause that's when they quit making good music," he says.
It's all Sinatra, all the time, when Dr. Howard Melvin, an eye surgeon at Good Samaritan Hospital, is in the operating room.
"I need something relaxing. I do very intense surgery," he says.
Some days, Dr. Robert Bohinski wants to hear Mozart in the operating room. Other days, only Guns N' Roses will do.
"Sometimes it just depends on what team we have that day, whether it's an older team or a younger team," says Bohinski, a neurosurgeon at University Hospital. "Usually it's just a gut feeling."
When things aren't going well or the surgeon needs complete concentration, the music gets turned off.
"For the delicate parts of brain surgery when we're under the microscope, I don't listen to music. It's too distracting. When I'm resecting a deep brain tumor, I need to focus," Bohinski says.
Dr. Charles Mehlman, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, chooses music according to the intensity of the procedure.
"When there's serious stuff, there's serious music," Mehlman says. "For the more routine stuff, it can be more fun music, like Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra."
Dr. Michael Thomas, a fertility specialist and director of the Center for Reproductive Health at St. Luke's West, listens to everything from Heart and James Taylor to Arrested Development and Maroon 5.
He likes driving rock beats, like Bruce Springsteen, for clearing fallopian tubes "so you can blast out all that endometriosis," he says.
And during infertility surgeries and embryo implantations, you'll hear Luther Vandross and Barry White crooning and breathing heavy.
"They've helped other people get pregnant without our help, so we're trying to use them to our patients' advantage during the procedures," he says.
There are two people in the operating room besides the surgeon who get input on music.
One is the patient. If they're going to be awake for the procedure, they can bring in their own music or choose from the surgeon's collection. They also can choose the music they'd like to hear while they're going to sleep.
The other is the anesthesiologist, who at least gets to order the music turned down or off while he or she listens for the patient's vital signs.
"It has to be soft enough they can hear the patient's heartbeat," Reilly says. "But they do have a stethoscope they can stick in their ear."
Dr. William Hurford, chairman of the department of anesthesiology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, compares OR music to background music in department stores.
"We can basically block it out and listen to the patient and the monitors," he says.
Hurford, incidentally, likes quiet jazz.
Mehlman lets his patients' parents choose the music that will be played during their children's surgeries.
Mehlman also lets teammates choose songs when it's time to close - the operation is done and it's time to stitch everything up.
"Closing music is where it's at," he says. "The intense, scary, dangerous part is over, and you're changing gears."
E-mail pofarrell@enquirer.com
Print Go back Copyright 2005, The Enquirer
Another ad for essays.
Residency Personal Statements
--Article courtesy of Accepted.com, Application Essay Editing Service
To get into medical school, you explained why you wanted to be a physician. Now that you're an M.D., you need to secure that critical residency interview so you can show what you've got. To that end, your personal statement should give the residency committee a taste of what you're all about, and make them want more.
Easier said than done? Here are some of the critical pieces of a residency personal statement to get you started.
- Focus on the Specialty
- Focus on Your Strengths
- Focus on the Program
- Tips for Better Writing
- Need more Help?
Focus on the Specialty
Your rotations let you sample each medical specialty. By now, you should have a clear idea which one you want to pursue. Tell the residency committee how you reached that decision. What convinced you that you wanted to know more about neurology, and that you could never see yourself setting broken bones? What is it about delivering babies that thrills you more than caring for them after they're born? Use anecdotes to illustrate your story and bring out your unique experiences and perspectives. Most importantly, where do you see yourself in the future? Make your choice unambiguous and your commitment undeniable.
Focus on Your Strengths
You've gained valuable technical skills and exposure to clinical practice, but so have all your classmates. Which of your unique qualities will make your #1 residency program rank you as their #1 choice? Your personal experiences, both in medical school and outside, reveal a lot more about you than your C.V. and USMLE step exams. A good way to think about this is in the context of what's needed for that specialty. Will the listening skills you developed in college debate help you as a family practitioner? Have your quick reflexes, honed through years of playing piano, prepared you for the technical dexterity you'll need in emergency medicine? Will your teamwork skills developed as captain of your soccer team improve your coordination as part of a surgical team? Select specific examples that demonstrate your strengths and make your essay come alive.
Focus on the Program
You obviously don't want to write about your love for pediatric medicine if you're applying for a surgical residency program. What's less obvious is that you can: and should: write about the specific advantages of a research-oriented residency program in one essay and the benefits of a purely clinical experience in another. You can even write a different personal statement for every program. It sounds like a lot of extra work, but don't underestimate the bonus points you can get for this approach. Tailoring your essay to specific programs or types of programs demonstrates that you've done your homework and are genuinely interested.
Tips for Better Writing
Now that you have an idea what to write about, you need to know how to write it. Your tone of voice should be personable, but professional. Your story should be interesting and draw the reader into the story with specific examples, but use humor sparingly. Throughout your writing, keep your purpose in mind: you're trying to land the interview, not detail every aspect of your medical school training or research project.
Need More Help?
For more tips on writing your residency statement, get help from Accepted.com's experienced editorial staff. We can help you from the beginning or polish what you've already written. Either way, you'll get a personal statement that makes you shine!
By Cydney Foote, Accepted.com Senior Editor
Copyright Accepted.com 2003
Still more on personal statements
Well by now most readers will have correctly come to the conclusion that the idea of personal statement editing, ghost writing, etc. is an issue with me.
Here is an example of an ad for one of the internet services - see how slick it is!
Residency Personal Statement Services
After evaluating recommendations, transcripts, and test scores ad inifinitum, busy Program Directors use the residency personal statement to decide between applicants with very similar backgrounds and USMLE scores. While a strong residency statement will help you land an interview, a weak one will ensure that you don't.
Your residency statement must address why you became interested in your chosen specialty, what you can contribute to a given program, and how you intend to realize your professional goals. In addition, you must convincingly present evidence of your intellectual and personal credentials while demonstrating your motivation, determination, integrity, common sense, reliability, and personal capacity to excel in a challenging residency program. IMG candidates also must establish their English language ability.
While this may seem like a lot to achieve in a single essay, you have the benefit of control. EssayEdge will give you an advantage in the ultra-competitive residency application process by editing your essay to perfection. Our professional, Harvard-educated editors have read thousands of these statements and will edit your essay with an objective eye, ensuring that your residency application gets noticed.
For more information on EssayEdge's industry-leading personal statement services for residency applicants and our customers' overwhelming success in the residency program application process, please use the right-hand menu. For detailed service descriptions, please select a link below.
Here is an example of an ad for one of the internet services - see how slick it is!
Residency Personal Statement Services
After evaluating recommendations, transcripts, and test scores ad inifinitum, busy Program Directors use the residency personal statement to decide between applicants with very similar backgrounds and USMLE scores. While a strong residency statement will help you land an interview, a weak one will ensure that you don't.
Your residency statement must address why you became interested in your chosen specialty, what you can contribute to a given program, and how you intend to realize your professional goals. In addition, you must convincingly present evidence of your intellectual and personal credentials while demonstrating your motivation, determination, integrity, common sense, reliability, and personal capacity to excel in a challenging residency program. IMG candidates also must establish their English language ability.
While this may seem like a lot to achieve in a single essay, you have the benefit of control. EssayEdge will give you an advantage in the ultra-competitive residency application process by editing your essay to perfection. Our professional, Harvard-educated editors have read thousands of these statements and will edit your essay with an objective eye, ensuring that your residency application gets noticed.
For more information on EssayEdge's industry-leading personal statement services for residency applicants and our customers' overwhelming success in the residency program application process, please use the right-hand menu. For detailed service descriptions, please select a link below.
Another person who still has the Joy of Surgery
Hi folks, well I found this nice information about the joy of surgery on another website and felt compelled to share it here.
http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/residents/newhorizons/article-1.html
By Harold C. Urschel, Jr. MD
In 1995 Hal Urschel, MD, past president of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, served as the Schuster Visiting Professor at The Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. During that visit he delivered Surgical Grand Rounds, and his address was entitled "Let's Bring the Magic Back". His remarks were insightful and stimulating, and they are pertinent to many of the issues facing the profession of Cardiothoracic Surgery today. We are pleased to reproduce them on CTSNet.-Dr. Walter Merrill
Let's Bring the Magic BackBy Harold C. Urschel, Jr. MD
TWO YEARS AGO ALLEN GREENSPAN WAS THE KEYNOTE SPEAKERAT HARVARD’S COMMENCEMENT,
- WHETHER CONSIDERING GLOBALIZATION OR INDIVIDUALRELATIONSHIPS,
HE DEEMED THE MOST CRUCIAL CONDITION FOR SUCCESS WAS
- TRUST.
FOR THE PAST 8 YEARS IT HAS BEEN SORELY LACKINGNOT ONLY FROM ECONOMIC TREATIES, BUT WITHIN OUR FOREIGN POLICY
TRUST IS ALSO FUNDAMENTAL TO THE DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIPAND HAS BEEN ERODED SIGNIFICANTLY BY THE MULTIFACETED THIRD PARTY INTERFERENCE.
THE EROSION OF DOCTOR-PATIENT TRUSTHAS PROVOKED SEVERE DEPRESSION AND “CREPE HANGING” IN PROFESSIONS.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE “JOY OF SURGERY” (CLEM HIEBERT)
“THE MAGIC STUFF,THE GRAIL THAT ONCE MOVED EVERY DOCTOR IN THIS ROOMTO BECOME A SURGEONAND THAT EVEN NOW BECKONSTHROUGH THE JADING MISTOF TEDIUM AND TIME.STRIP AWAY THE CORRUPTING DULLNESSAND LOOK AFRESH AT OUR PROFESSION.I STILL CONTEND THAT IT IS THE MOST SPLENDIFEROUS OF ALLPROFESSIONS.”
WHY DID WE GO INTO SURGERY?
WE WANTED TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE AND WE WANTED TO MAKE ADIFFERENCE.
CERTAINLY THE DECISION WAS NOT MADE BECAUSE OF DOLLARS AND CENTS.
SURGERY EMBODIES THE SCHOLARSHIP OF SCIENCE,
THE SKILL OF A FINE ATHLETE,AND THE NECESSITY TO MAKE A PRECISE DECISION– THE SURGEON IS THE “FIGHTER PILOT” SO TO SPEAK OF OURPROFESSION.
WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL HIPPOCRATES’ APHORISM, CHIZELED IN STONEON BLDG D, PRECISELY CHARACTERIZED THE SURGEON’S DAILY DILEMA:
“LIFE IS SHORT.THE ART LONG.THE OCCASION INSTANT.THE EXPERIMENT PERILOUS.AND THE DECISION DIFFICULT.”
MY BOOT CAMP TRAINING WAS TOUGH – SACRIFICE WAS PRIMARY.
AT THE HOSPITAL.
MY PATIENTS ALWAYS CAME FIRST .
MY WIFE, MY FAMILY, MY EMOTIONS ALWAYS REMAINED SECOND –36 HOURS ON, 12 HOURS OFF, FOR $25.00 A MONTH.
ONCE WHEN I CAME HOME ON A RARE WEEKEND, TO MY TWO SONSWHO HAD BEEN GIVEN TOY RAZORS FOR CHRISTMAS I SAID, “LET’S SHAVE TOGETHER.”
THEY IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO SHAVE THEIR LEGS. THAT PRETTY MUCH SUMMARIZED MY INFLUENCE ON THE FAMILY ATTHAT TIME.
IN THOSE DAYS OUR POSITION WAS REVERED“THERE ARE MEN AND CLASSES OF MENTHAT STAND ABOVE THE COMMON HERD-THE SOLDIER, THE SAILOR, THE SHEPHERD NOT INFREQUENTLY,THE ARTIST RARELY, RARELIER STILL THE CLERGYMAN,THE PHYSICIAN ALMOST AS A RULE.
HE IS THE FLOWER SUCH AS IT IS OF OUR CIVILIZATION ANDWHEN THAT STAGE OF MAN IS DONE WITH ANDONLY TO BE MARVELED AT IN HISTORY, HE WILL BE THOUGHT TO HAVE SHAREDAS LITTLE AS ANY IN THE DEFECTS OF THE PERIODAND MOST NOTABLY EXHIBITED THE VIRTUES OF THE RACE.”
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
I WOULD HOPE THAT IS STILL TRUE
WHO ARE OUR HEROES?
I WILL GIVE YOU A FEW OF MINE – WHILE YOU THINK OF YOURSWHAT LESSONS OF THEIRS WILL HELP?
DR. CHURCHILL ALWAYS FELT THAT“WE STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS,WE ARE CUSTODIANS OF A TRADITION. KNOWLEDGE IS HANDED TO US AND WE MUST PASS IT ON, SCRUBBED CLEAN, SO AS TO LEAVE THE PLACE BETTER AND BRIGHTER THAN WE FOUND IT. THINK OF YOUR HEROES – HOW CAN THEY HELP US?”
CHURCHILL FELT THAT THE MAIN STRENGTH OF THE SURGEON RESTED IN HUMANISM.
EINSTEIN, ONE OF HIS HEROES, ARTICULATED MANY OF CHURCHILL’S PRINCIPLES.
“TIME DOES NOT EXIST - THE DISTICTION BETWEEN THE PAST & FUTURE IS AN ILLUSION.”
ONE OF OUR MAJOR SATISFACTIONS AND COMPLIMENTS IS THE TRUST THAT OUR PATIENTS COMMIT TO US BY PLACING THEIR LIVES IN OUR HANDS FOR CARE. THIS IS WHAT MAKES OURS A PROFESSION, AND NOT A TRADE.
OUR BOND IS WITH OUR PATIENTS, SURGERY IS AN IRREVOCABLY INVASIVE REMEDY WHICH LINKS PATIENTS WITH US MORE CLEARLY THAN OTHER AREAS OF MEDICINE. DECADE’S LATER PATIENTS MAY RECALL THE VERY DATE OF THE EVENT, ESPECIALLY IF WE HAVE ADDED CARING TO THE CURING.
IN TRYING TO EXPLAIN WHY SOMEONE GETS THE NOBEL PRIZE JOE MURRAY – ANOTHER ONE OF MY HEROES TOLD ME THE LAST TIME I WAS HERE,
IT’S NOT JUST ONE GOOD IDEA CARRIED TO FRUITION – BUT RATHER A SERIES: THAT DEVELOPS A SYSTEM OF CARE
IN HIS CASE: RENAL TRANSPLANT: IDENTICAL TWINS – (MY 3rd YR HMS)
RELATED DONOR CADAVER
JOE IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF EINSTEIN’S CONVICTION
“IMAGINATION IS STRONGER THAN KNOWLEDGE,MYTH IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HISTORYDREAMS ARE MORE POWERFUL THAN FACTSHOPE ALWAYS TRIUMPHS OVER EXPERIENCELAUGHTER IS THE ONLY CURE FOR GRIEFLOVE IS STRONGER THAN DEATH.” - EINSTEIN
IN 1985 DICK BASS ASCENDED MT EVEREST AND BECAME THE FIRST PERSON TO CLIMB THE SEVEN SUMMITS - THE TALLEST MOUNTAIN ON EACH CONTINENT HE TOOK US TO MT. EVEREST IN 1987 TO PUT THE 1ST AMERICAN WOMEN ON THE SUMMIT AND AS ONE OF MY HEROES SAID:
“OUR DOUBTS ARE TRAITORS, AND MAKE US LOSE THE GOOD WE OFT MIGHT WIN, BY FEARING TO ATTEMPT.”
JOHN KNOWLES FELT
"HUMOR IS ESSENTIAL IN OVERCOMING MONUMENTAL CHALLANGESMANKIND’S MOST ENDURING AVENUE TO EMPATHYSHARED INSIGHT BINDING FAMILIES, FRIENDSAND EVEN STRANGERS TOGETHERSTARK, PAINFUL TRUTH DELIVERED IN WORDS OFAFFECTION AND ABIDING TRUSTSHUNS POMPOSITY, SHAM AND ALL FALSEHOODHE THINKS IT’S THE BROADEST EXPRESSIONOF HUMAN FAITH THAT WE HAVE"
“WHEN I DIE I WANT TO GO PEACEFULLY, LIKE MY GRANDFATHER DID,IN HIS SLEEP,NOT SCREAMING LIKE THE OTHER PASSENGERSIN THE BACKSEAT OF HIS CAR.” (HCU)
DICK BASS LIKE RICHARD SWEET REMINDS US THAT: - THE MAJOR GOAL OF THE SURGEON AS THE MOUNTAINEER IS TO “OVERCOME DIFFICULTY.”
STANLEY MARCUS - FRIEND PATIENT WORLD TRAVELING COMPANION
HAS BEEN A CONSTANT INSPIRATION AND HIS
LEGENDARY BOOK:
– QUEST FOR THE BEST
“- THE RIGHT TO BELIEVE FREELY. TO BE A SLAVE TO NO MAN’S AUTHORITY. IF THIS BE HERESY – SO BE IT. IT IS STILL THE TRUTH TO GO AGAINST CONSCIENCE IS NEITHER RIGHT NOR SAFE. I CANNOT – WILL NOT – RECANT. HERE I STAND – NO MAN CAN COMMAND MY CONSCIENCE.
MARTIN LUTHER
- MARTIN LUTHER’S FAMOUS CREDO IS ONE OF THE NOBLEST EVER MADE BY MAN. IT REPRESENTS MY PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY EXACTLY. IT IS BY MY SUBSCRIPTION TO IT THAT I HOPE TO BE REMEMBERED.”
STANLEY MARCUS
REMINDS US THAT:WE MUST INSIST ON “WHAT IS BEST” FOR OUR PATIENTS -AS THEIR PRIMARY ADVOCATE.
THE EDITOR OF THE DAYTON FLYER NEWSPAPER WAS CHAGRINED AT REPORTING ONLY MURDERS, TRAGEDY AND DEPRESSION - MUCH AS WE SEE TODAY.IN THE LATE 1800’S HE STARTED PUBLISHING ON THE FRONT PAGE A STORY TWO OR THREE TIMES A WEEK OF A GREAT HERO, INVENTOR, OR SCIENTIST. THIS CONTINUED FOR FORTY YEARS – THE REST IS HISTORY. DAYTON HAS PRODUCED MANY MORE INVENTORS, LEADERS AND SCIENTISTS THAN ANY OTHER MAJOR CITY IN THE COUNTRY PER CAPITA.
YOU’RE FAMILIAR WITH THE WRIGHT BROTHERS, AND THOMAS EDISON, BUT WHAT ABOUT CHARLES KETTERING? HE DESIGNED A MOTOR TO OPEN THE CASH REGISTER DRAWER FOR NCR WITHOUT THE CRANK.HOWEVER HIS MOST DRAMATIC ADAPTATION ELIMINATED THE CHAUFFEUR’S FRACTURE.HOW MANY KNOW WHAT THAT IS? THIS WAS A FRACTURE OF THE RADIUS STYLOID AFTER “CRANKING THE MODEL T TO START THE ENGINE” – THE SELF-STARTER. HE USED THE SAME MOTOR OF THE CASH REGISTERTO REVOLUTIONIZE AND POPULARIZE THE CAR INDUSTRY.
SOME OF YOU REMEMBER: TO START THE CAR YOU HAD TOSET THE SPARK & THROTTLE – JUMP OUT, TURN THE CRANK – RUN BACK, RESET THE SPARK & THROTTLE BEFORE IT STALLED. THE SELF-STARTER DID MORE TO EMANCIPATE WOMEN’S LIBERATION THAN SUSAN B. ANTHONY.
KETTERING SUBSEQUENTLY GAVE MUCH OF HIS FORTUNE TO SLOAN- KETTERING MEMORIAL CANCER HOSPITAL IN NEW YORK.
OFTEN A SOLUTION TO A SIMPLE PROBLEM MAY HAVE A MUCH WIDER APPLICATION ONE ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESSFUL SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT.
ROSS PEROT OFFERED TO HELP IN 1994 AGAINST CLINTON’S SOCIALIZATION OF MEDICINE.BETSEY & I BROUGHT HIM TO THE KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT (KSG) AT HARVARD FOR A 2 DAY ORIENTATION - MEDICAL - PUBLIC HEALTH – LAW – BUSINESS – TO BRING HIM UP TO SPEED.
ROSS PEROT CHALLENGED US DURING THE CLINTON HEALTH CARE SCARE TO “PUT OUR PATIENTS FIRST ” AND PROVIDE LEADERSHIP FOR HEALTH CARE REFORM. FEW OF US COMPLIED.WE ARE VICTIMS OF OUR PERSONALITIES AND OUR TRAINING. WE DON’T FOLLOW ANYONE. IT WAS THE RESTAURANT OWNER AND WORKERS’ UNION WHO SUCCESSFULLY LOBBIED AND DEFEATED THE CLINTON HEALTH REFORM CHALLENGE.LEADING SURGEONS IS LIKE HERDING CATS. – ONE OF OUR MAJOR HURDLES TO DEVELOP SYSTEMSGIVING OUR PATIENTS PREMIERE BILLING IS CARDINAL TO FUTURE SUCCESS.
BASED ON THE SUCCESS OF PEROT’S ORIENTATION AT THE KSG, BETSEY AND I ARRANGED A HEALTH POLICY COURSE THERE TWO TIMES A YEAR FOR CARDIOVASCULAR LEADERSHIP AND INDUSTRY.
PEROT POINTED OUT:“THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE AREAS IN WHICH AMERICA EXCELS IN THE WORLD.”“OUR FARMER IS THE BEST -ONLY 6% OF OUR POPULATION IS REQUIRED TO FEED ALL OF US -IT TAKES 65% OF RUSSIANS AND 75% OF CHINESE FARMING –WE BUILT THE FIRST, AND BEST AIRPLANES, IN THE WORLD.OUR MEDICINE AND RESEARCH ARE WORLD-CLASS. PEOPLE COME FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE EARTH FOR OUR HEALTH CARE. ALL THREE OF THESE SHINING STARS ARE BEING CRIPPLED BY THE SAME FORCE – THE PARASITIC MIDDLEMAN .”
WE MUST REDUCE THE POWER OF THE MIDDLEMAN. -THE INSURANCE COMPANY. WHO HAS THE TALLEST BUILDING IN EVERY CITY? – HE WHO CONTROLS THE DATA AND INFORMATION CONTROLS THE SYSTEM.
HENRY CISNEROS DESCRIBED THE INEVITABILITY OF CHANGE,“IF NO ONE LIFTS A FINGER OR NO ONE CARES, THINGS CHANGETHE HUMAN BODY GROWS OLDER, MACHINES GROW RUSTY,FRIENDSHIPS FALL APART, FOUNDATIONS BEGIN TO SETTLE.LEFT UNATTENDED, THE DYNAMIC OF CHANGE IS ‘DECLINE’ ”.THE TRICK IS TO CONVERT CHANGE INTO A POSITIVE FORCE AND THAT TAKES POSITIVE ACTION. GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR MADE IT VERY CLEAR:
“THE HISTORY OF THE FAILURE OF WAR CAN BE SUMMED UP INTWO WORDS: TOO LATETOO LATE IN COMPREHENDING THE DEADLY PURPOSE OF APOTENTIAL ENEMY;TOO LATE IN REALIZING THE MORTAL DANGER;TOO LATE IN PREPAREDNESS;TOO LATE IN UNITING ALL POSSIBLE FORCES FOR RESISTANCE;TOO LATE IN STANDING WITH ONE’S FRIENDS”.
WE MUST RECAPTURE THE:
“THE JOY OF SURGERY THE MAGIC STUFF, THE GRAIL THAT ONCE MOVED EVERY DOCTOR IN THIS ROOM TO BECOME A SURGEON, AND THAT EVEN NOW BECKONS THROUGH THE JADING MIST OF TEDIUM AND TIME. STRIP AWAY THE CORRUPTING DULLNESS AND LOOK AFRESH AT OUR PROFESSION. IT IS THE MOST SPLENDIFEROUS OF ALL PROFESSIONS.”
IT’S TIME TO TAKE THE MAGIC BACK .
Publication Date: 27-Aug-2004Last Modified: 18-Jul-2005
http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/residents/newhorizons/article-1.html
By Harold C. Urschel, Jr. MD
In 1995 Hal Urschel, MD, past president of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, served as the Schuster Visiting Professor at The Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. During that visit he delivered Surgical Grand Rounds, and his address was entitled "Let's Bring the Magic Back". His remarks were insightful and stimulating, and they are pertinent to many of the issues facing the profession of Cardiothoracic Surgery today. We are pleased to reproduce them on CTSNet.-Dr. Walter Merrill
Let's Bring the Magic BackBy Harold C. Urschel, Jr. MD
TWO YEARS AGO ALLEN GREENSPAN WAS THE KEYNOTE SPEAKERAT HARVARD’S COMMENCEMENT,
- WHETHER CONSIDERING GLOBALIZATION OR INDIVIDUALRELATIONSHIPS,
HE DEEMED THE MOST CRUCIAL CONDITION FOR SUCCESS WAS
- TRUST.
FOR THE PAST 8 YEARS IT HAS BEEN SORELY LACKINGNOT ONLY FROM ECONOMIC TREATIES, BUT WITHIN OUR FOREIGN POLICY
TRUST IS ALSO FUNDAMENTAL TO THE DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIPAND HAS BEEN ERODED SIGNIFICANTLY BY THE MULTIFACETED THIRD PARTY INTERFERENCE.
THE EROSION OF DOCTOR-PATIENT TRUSTHAS PROVOKED SEVERE DEPRESSION AND “CREPE HANGING” IN PROFESSIONS.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE “JOY OF SURGERY” (CLEM HIEBERT)
“THE MAGIC STUFF,THE GRAIL THAT ONCE MOVED EVERY DOCTOR IN THIS ROOMTO BECOME A SURGEONAND THAT EVEN NOW BECKONSTHROUGH THE JADING MISTOF TEDIUM AND TIME.STRIP AWAY THE CORRUPTING DULLNESSAND LOOK AFRESH AT OUR PROFESSION.I STILL CONTEND THAT IT IS THE MOST SPLENDIFEROUS OF ALLPROFESSIONS.”
WHY DID WE GO INTO SURGERY?
WE WANTED TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE AND WE WANTED TO MAKE ADIFFERENCE.
CERTAINLY THE DECISION WAS NOT MADE BECAUSE OF DOLLARS AND CENTS.
SURGERY EMBODIES THE SCHOLARSHIP OF SCIENCE,
THE SKILL OF A FINE ATHLETE,AND THE NECESSITY TO MAKE A PRECISE DECISION– THE SURGEON IS THE “FIGHTER PILOT” SO TO SPEAK OF OURPROFESSION.
WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL HIPPOCRATES’ APHORISM, CHIZELED IN STONEON BLDG D, PRECISELY CHARACTERIZED THE SURGEON’S DAILY DILEMA:
“LIFE IS SHORT.THE ART LONG.THE OCCASION INSTANT.THE EXPERIMENT PERILOUS.AND THE DECISION DIFFICULT.”
MY BOOT CAMP TRAINING WAS TOUGH – SACRIFICE WAS PRIMARY.
AT THE HOSPITAL.
MY PATIENTS ALWAYS CAME FIRST .
MY WIFE, MY FAMILY, MY EMOTIONS ALWAYS REMAINED SECOND –36 HOURS ON, 12 HOURS OFF, FOR $25.00 A MONTH.
ONCE WHEN I CAME HOME ON A RARE WEEKEND, TO MY TWO SONSWHO HAD BEEN GIVEN TOY RAZORS FOR CHRISTMAS I SAID, “LET’S SHAVE TOGETHER.”
THEY IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO SHAVE THEIR LEGS. THAT PRETTY MUCH SUMMARIZED MY INFLUENCE ON THE FAMILY ATTHAT TIME.
IN THOSE DAYS OUR POSITION WAS REVERED“THERE ARE MEN AND CLASSES OF MENTHAT STAND ABOVE THE COMMON HERD-THE SOLDIER, THE SAILOR, THE SHEPHERD NOT INFREQUENTLY,THE ARTIST RARELY, RARELIER STILL THE CLERGYMAN,THE PHYSICIAN ALMOST AS A RULE.
HE IS THE FLOWER SUCH AS IT IS OF OUR CIVILIZATION ANDWHEN THAT STAGE OF MAN IS DONE WITH ANDONLY TO BE MARVELED AT IN HISTORY, HE WILL BE THOUGHT TO HAVE SHAREDAS LITTLE AS ANY IN THE DEFECTS OF THE PERIODAND MOST NOTABLY EXHIBITED THE VIRTUES OF THE RACE.”
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
I WOULD HOPE THAT IS STILL TRUE
WHO ARE OUR HEROES?
I WILL GIVE YOU A FEW OF MINE – WHILE YOU THINK OF YOURSWHAT LESSONS OF THEIRS WILL HELP?
DR. CHURCHILL ALWAYS FELT THAT“WE STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS,WE ARE CUSTODIANS OF A TRADITION. KNOWLEDGE IS HANDED TO US AND WE MUST PASS IT ON, SCRUBBED CLEAN, SO AS TO LEAVE THE PLACE BETTER AND BRIGHTER THAN WE FOUND IT. THINK OF YOUR HEROES – HOW CAN THEY HELP US?”
CHURCHILL FELT THAT THE MAIN STRENGTH OF THE SURGEON RESTED IN HUMANISM.
EINSTEIN, ONE OF HIS HEROES, ARTICULATED MANY OF CHURCHILL’S PRINCIPLES.
“TIME DOES NOT EXIST - THE DISTICTION BETWEEN THE PAST & FUTURE IS AN ILLUSION.”
ONE OF OUR MAJOR SATISFACTIONS AND COMPLIMENTS IS THE TRUST THAT OUR PATIENTS COMMIT TO US BY PLACING THEIR LIVES IN OUR HANDS FOR CARE. THIS IS WHAT MAKES OURS A PROFESSION, AND NOT A TRADE.
OUR BOND IS WITH OUR PATIENTS, SURGERY IS AN IRREVOCABLY INVASIVE REMEDY WHICH LINKS PATIENTS WITH US MORE CLEARLY THAN OTHER AREAS OF MEDICINE. DECADE’S LATER PATIENTS MAY RECALL THE VERY DATE OF THE EVENT, ESPECIALLY IF WE HAVE ADDED CARING TO THE CURING.
IN TRYING TO EXPLAIN WHY SOMEONE GETS THE NOBEL PRIZE JOE MURRAY – ANOTHER ONE OF MY HEROES TOLD ME THE LAST TIME I WAS HERE,
IT’S NOT JUST ONE GOOD IDEA CARRIED TO FRUITION – BUT RATHER A SERIES: THAT DEVELOPS A SYSTEM OF CARE
IN HIS CASE: RENAL TRANSPLANT: IDENTICAL TWINS – (MY 3rd YR HMS)
RELATED DONOR CADAVER
JOE IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF EINSTEIN’S CONVICTION
“IMAGINATION IS STRONGER THAN KNOWLEDGE,MYTH IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HISTORYDREAMS ARE MORE POWERFUL THAN FACTSHOPE ALWAYS TRIUMPHS OVER EXPERIENCELAUGHTER IS THE ONLY CURE FOR GRIEFLOVE IS STRONGER THAN DEATH.” - EINSTEIN
IN 1985 DICK BASS ASCENDED MT EVEREST AND BECAME THE FIRST PERSON TO CLIMB THE SEVEN SUMMITS - THE TALLEST MOUNTAIN ON EACH CONTINENT HE TOOK US TO MT. EVEREST IN 1987 TO PUT THE 1ST AMERICAN WOMEN ON THE SUMMIT AND AS ONE OF MY HEROES SAID:
“OUR DOUBTS ARE TRAITORS, AND MAKE US LOSE THE GOOD WE OFT MIGHT WIN, BY FEARING TO ATTEMPT.”
JOHN KNOWLES FELT
"HUMOR IS ESSENTIAL IN OVERCOMING MONUMENTAL CHALLANGESMANKIND’S MOST ENDURING AVENUE TO EMPATHYSHARED INSIGHT BINDING FAMILIES, FRIENDSAND EVEN STRANGERS TOGETHERSTARK, PAINFUL TRUTH DELIVERED IN WORDS OFAFFECTION AND ABIDING TRUSTSHUNS POMPOSITY, SHAM AND ALL FALSEHOODHE THINKS IT’S THE BROADEST EXPRESSIONOF HUMAN FAITH THAT WE HAVE"
“WHEN I DIE I WANT TO GO PEACEFULLY, LIKE MY GRANDFATHER DID,IN HIS SLEEP,NOT SCREAMING LIKE THE OTHER PASSENGERSIN THE BACKSEAT OF HIS CAR.” (HCU)
DICK BASS LIKE RICHARD SWEET REMINDS US THAT: - THE MAJOR GOAL OF THE SURGEON AS THE MOUNTAINEER IS TO “OVERCOME DIFFICULTY.”
STANLEY MARCUS - FRIEND PATIENT WORLD TRAVELING COMPANION
HAS BEEN A CONSTANT INSPIRATION AND HIS
LEGENDARY BOOK:
– QUEST FOR THE BEST
“- THE RIGHT TO BELIEVE FREELY. TO BE A SLAVE TO NO MAN’S AUTHORITY. IF THIS BE HERESY – SO BE IT. IT IS STILL THE TRUTH TO GO AGAINST CONSCIENCE IS NEITHER RIGHT NOR SAFE. I CANNOT – WILL NOT – RECANT. HERE I STAND – NO MAN CAN COMMAND MY CONSCIENCE.
MARTIN LUTHER
- MARTIN LUTHER’S FAMOUS CREDO IS ONE OF THE NOBLEST EVER MADE BY MAN. IT REPRESENTS MY PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY EXACTLY. IT IS BY MY SUBSCRIPTION TO IT THAT I HOPE TO BE REMEMBERED.”
STANLEY MARCUS
REMINDS US THAT:WE MUST INSIST ON “WHAT IS BEST” FOR OUR PATIENTS -AS THEIR PRIMARY ADVOCATE.
THE EDITOR OF THE DAYTON FLYER NEWSPAPER WAS CHAGRINED AT REPORTING ONLY MURDERS, TRAGEDY AND DEPRESSION - MUCH AS WE SEE TODAY.IN THE LATE 1800’S HE STARTED PUBLISHING ON THE FRONT PAGE A STORY TWO OR THREE TIMES A WEEK OF A GREAT HERO, INVENTOR, OR SCIENTIST. THIS CONTINUED FOR FORTY YEARS – THE REST IS HISTORY. DAYTON HAS PRODUCED MANY MORE INVENTORS, LEADERS AND SCIENTISTS THAN ANY OTHER MAJOR CITY IN THE COUNTRY PER CAPITA.
YOU’RE FAMILIAR WITH THE WRIGHT BROTHERS, AND THOMAS EDISON, BUT WHAT ABOUT CHARLES KETTERING? HE DESIGNED A MOTOR TO OPEN THE CASH REGISTER DRAWER FOR NCR WITHOUT THE CRANK.HOWEVER HIS MOST DRAMATIC ADAPTATION ELIMINATED THE CHAUFFEUR’S FRACTURE.HOW MANY KNOW WHAT THAT IS? THIS WAS A FRACTURE OF THE RADIUS STYLOID AFTER “CRANKING THE MODEL T TO START THE ENGINE” – THE SELF-STARTER. HE USED THE SAME MOTOR OF THE CASH REGISTERTO REVOLUTIONIZE AND POPULARIZE THE CAR INDUSTRY.
SOME OF YOU REMEMBER: TO START THE CAR YOU HAD TOSET THE SPARK & THROTTLE – JUMP OUT, TURN THE CRANK – RUN BACK, RESET THE SPARK & THROTTLE BEFORE IT STALLED. THE SELF-STARTER DID MORE TO EMANCIPATE WOMEN’S LIBERATION THAN SUSAN B. ANTHONY.
KETTERING SUBSEQUENTLY GAVE MUCH OF HIS FORTUNE TO SLOAN- KETTERING MEMORIAL CANCER HOSPITAL IN NEW YORK.
OFTEN A SOLUTION TO A SIMPLE PROBLEM MAY HAVE A MUCH WIDER APPLICATION ONE ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESSFUL SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT.
ROSS PEROT OFFERED TO HELP IN 1994 AGAINST CLINTON’S SOCIALIZATION OF MEDICINE.BETSEY & I BROUGHT HIM TO THE KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT (KSG) AT HARVARD FOR A 2 DAY ORIENTATION - MEDICAL - PUBLIC HEALTH – LAW – BUSINESS – TO BRING HIM UP TO SPEED.
ROSS PEROT CHALLENGED US DURING THE CLINTON HEALTH CARE SCARE TO “PUT OUR PATIENTS FIRST ” AND PROVIDE LEADERSHIP FOR HEALTH CARE REFORM. FEW OF US COMPLIED.WE ARE VICTIMS OF OUR PERSONALITIES AND OUR TRAINING. WE DON’T FOLLOW ANYONE. IT WAS THE RESTAURANT OWNER AND WORKERS’ UNION WHO SUCCESSFULLY LOBBIED AND DEFEATED THE CLINTON HEALTH REFORM CHALLENGE.LEADING SURGEONS IS LIKE HERDING CATS. – ONE OF OUR MAJOR HURDLES TO DEVELOP SYSTEMSGIVING OUR PATIENTS PREMIERE BILLING IS CARDINAL TO FUTURE SUCCESS.
BASED ON THE SUCCESS OF PEROT’S ORIENTATION AT THE KSG, BETSEY AND I ARRANGED A HEALTH POLICY COURSE THERE TWO TIMES A YEAR FOR CARDIOVASCULAR LEADERSHIP AND INDUSTRY.
PEROT POINTED OUT:“THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE AREAS IN WHICH AMERICA EXCELS IN THE WORLD.”“OUR FARMER IS THE BEST -ONLY 6% OF OUR POPULATION IS REQUIRED TO FEED ALL OF US -IT TAKES 65% OF RUSSIANS AND 75% OF CHINESE FARMING –WE BUILT THE FIRST, AND BEST AIRPLANES, IN THE WORLD.OUR MEDICINE AND RESEARCH ARE WORLD-CLASS. PEOPLE COME FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE EARTH FOR OUR HEALTH CARE. ALL THREE OF THESE SHINING STARS ARE BEING CRIPPLED BY THE SAME FORCE – THE PARASITIC MIDDLEMAN .”
WE MUST REDUCE THE POWER OF THE MIDDLEMAN. -THE INSURANCE COMPANY. WHO HAS THE TALLEST BUILDING IN EVERY CITY? – HE WHO CONTROLS THE DATA AND INFORMATION CONTROLS THE SYSTEM.
HENRY CISNEROS DESCRIBED THE INEVITABILITY OF CHANGE,“IF NO ONE LIFTS A FINGER OR NO ONE CARES, THINGS CHANGETHE HUMAN BODY GROWS OLDER, MACHINES GROW RUSTY,FRIENDSHIPS FALL APART, FOUNDATIONS BEGIN TO SETTLE.LEFT UNATTENDED, THE DYNAMIC OF CHANGE IS ‘DECLINE’ ”.THE TRICK IS TO CONVERT CHANGE INTO A POSITIVE FORCE AND THAT TAKES POSITIVE ACTION. GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR MADE IT VERY CLEAR:
“THE HISTORY OF THE FAILURE OF WAR CAN BE SUMMED UP INTWO WORDS: TOO LATETOO LATE IN COMPREHENDING THE DEADLY PURPOSE OF APOTENTIAL ENEMY;TOO LATE IN REALIZING THE MORTAL DANGER;TOO LATE IN PREPAREDNESS;TOO LATE IN UNITING ALL POSSIBLE FORCES FOR RESISTANCE;TOO LATE IN STANDING WITH ONE’S FRIENDS”.
WE MUST RECAPTURE THE:
“THE JOY OF SURGERY THE MAGIC STUFF, THE GRAIL THAT ONCE MOVED EVERY DOCTOR IN THIS ROOM TO BECOME A SURGEON, AND THAT EVEN NOW BECKONS THROUGH THE JADING MIST OF TEDIUM AND TIME. STRIP AWAY THE CORRUPTING DULLNESS AND LOOK AFRESH AT OUR PROFESSION. IT IS THE MOST SPLENDIFEROUS OF ALL PROFESSIONS.”
IT’S TIME TO TAKE THE MAGIC BACK .
Publication Date: 27-Aug-2004Last Modified: 18-Jul-2005
Lifelong learning
Well today I had the opportunity to talk to the surgery residents about lifelong learning. The context was the Department of Surgery's new requirement that residents complete a project and prepare a manuscript prior to promotion to the chief resident year. I am both optomistic and realistic about hte process. The most important thing will be seeing the residents enlarge their skills for self-directed learning. This will ultimately make them better surgeons. JTE.
More on personal statements
Well, I have been exploring this ethical question even more. Additional information reveals that ghost writing personal statements is a booming business. There are internet sites that will help high school students write for college applications, college students write for graduate and professional schools and medical students write for residencies and residents write for fellowships. How is it possible that we as a society have reached this point - ghost writing personal statements. How can we stop this? Should we even try to stop this from occuring? Just being rhetorical, but if anyone has comments they are welcome as always. JTE.
Hunter, Lister, Willis ????
Question = What do Hunter, Lister and Willis have in common?
Answer = All buried in Westminster Abbey.
Answer = All buried in Westminster Abbey.
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