Germy

I didn't watch Twin Peaks when it was initially on broadcast television. But for the last, oh, maybe 20 years I've been waiting to see Laura Palmer again. And true to her, and by extension, David Lynch's word, she came back. As did Agent Cooper with many of the old characters and plenty of enjoyable new ones. Plenty has been written about Twin Peaks and never so much as now, with (what seems like) the conclusion to the series finished and available for consumption.  And I stand not as a Twin Peaks authority; I am relatively a neophyte compared to many of those who count themselves as David Lynch aficionados. Similarly to how I feel about music, in that I've never tried to make it, is cinematography and filmmaking. Skateboarding inherently has video cameras involved, but a Sony DCR-VX1000 and some skater friends do not a cinematographer make. So, there is one small aspect I wish to focus on. The scene which takes us into the heart of the first nuclear detonation ...

A lot of emphasis is put on the team aspects of modern medicine and in some circles, this is viewed as a negative aspect, or more precisely, an encroachment on the (often) paternal and blanket authoritarian rule of law. Different environments have varying degrees of teamwork and each individual physician, in any given clinical scenario has a sizeable impact on the "temperature" of the room. Over time, with relationships built, and with a trust between people, people who work well with people will enjoy a healthy workplace community, in general. As a medical student, there is not enough time to let time naturally build relationships and trust, and the astute and emotionally competent ones set out to get to know the people they will rely on to do their 'job' which is being a physician-in-training. Of course, by the time the support staff knows your name, it is time to go to the next rotation. In politics, and popular culture at large one often hears about 'the m...

A patient the other day asked me at the end of her visit what I liked best about being a doctor. The question caught me off guard, mostly because we were talking about mother-in-law dynamics and how she was glad to have a good relationship with her daughter's husband. I said something about a mandate for life-long learning and building relationships, whatever. Yeah, that is all true. But I've been slowly grinding on that question for a few days and on a day off may have identified, specifically what I like best. Last week I went to a drug rep dinner (maybe the best one I've been to, with a charismatic speaker and valuable information no less) but, no, while as a resident these dinners are appreciated, they are not my favorite aspect of being a doctor. The trust that people have in me, is something that I never take lightly and while I couldn't be a physician without this dynamic I couldn't do that as well without the doing this -- Active Self-Criticism. I'...