Reality check
This post is a comment that I left on Ah Yes, Medical School. The author of the blog is hilarious. There is a common consensus among my friends who religiously read his blog, that he could write comedy if he wanted. Instead, he fell into the trap that the rest of us similarly fell into: medicine. His writing style is witty, realistic, and pulls no punches. It is medical school the way it really is. It encapsulates what so many of us think (or will think) on a daily basis. I applaud him for his continued efforts at humor and in some way educating those who are not in medicine. KUDOS!
-Not everything is peaches and butterflies. The unfortunate aspect of medicine is that it breeds red-liners. We are driven to achieve more than we thought possible at the outset. We are tested in a trial by fire every day. That is not exactly the type of environment that nurtures fun loving, happy-go-lucky people who see things through rose-colored glasses.
Yes, medicine it tough; it does harden your personality and sense of humor. You start to joke about autopsies and anatomy lab. It is a defense mechanism to separate yourself from the truly graphic nature of the tasks you are performing. It becomes second nature to look for release, by any means possible.
I do agree that balance is a good thing, but again medicine is full of red-liners who go 150 mph and then have to decompensate at some point. We study hard and party hard(er).
This is not limited to physicians, other people in the medical field experience this too. We do relate to a "non-medical" population. It just takes a second to put your mind in that mode. I'm sure you don't go around every day talking about having dyspnea or a case of acute eczematous dermatitis (that's shortness of breath and poison ivy for everyone playing along at home).
Medicine is another language and a different mindset. So, sometimes it is difficult to switch back. It is similar to being in a different country for an expanded period of time and then coming back to the US. There is an associated culture shock that goes along with it.
I am not an apologist; I'm a realist that deals with life and all the situations it brings. Life is tough. It hits you in the face and asks no questions. It pulls no punches and neither should I. But this blog does pull punches and makes an attempt to not be completely offensive to "non-medical" types. Again, if you don't like what I have to say, don't read my blog. You can comment and I won't delete it, but I'm not forcing you to continue to read.
-Justin Martyr (only religiously inclined people would understand, but whatever. Educate yourself!)
-Not everything is peaches and butterflies. The unfortunate aspect of medicine is that it breeds red-liners. We are driven to achieve more than we thought possible at the outset. We are tested in a trial by fire every day. That is not exactly the type of environment that nurtures fun loving, happy-go-lucky people who see things through rose-colored glasses.
Yes, medicine it tough; it does harden your personality and sense of humor. You start to joke about autopsies and anatomy lab. It is a defense mechanism to separate yourself from the truly graphic nature of the tasks you are performing. It becomes second nature to look for release, by any means possible.
I do agree that balance is a good thing, but again medicine is full of red-liners who go 150 mph and then have to decompensate at some point. We study hard and party hard(er).
This is not limited to physicians, other people in the medical field experience this too. We do relate to a "non-medical" population. It just takes a second to put your mind in that mode. I'm sure you don't go around every day talking about having dyspnea or a case of acute eczematous dermatitis (that's shortness of breath and poison ivy for everyone playing along at home).
Medicine is another language and a different mindset. So, sometimes it is difficult to switch back. It is similar to being in a different country for an expanded period of time and then coming back to the US. There is an associated culture shock that goes along with it.
I am not an apologist; I'm a realist that deals with life and all the situations it brings. Life is tough. It hits you in the face and asks no questions. It pulls no punches and neither should I. But this blog does pull punches and makes an attempt to not be completely offensive to "non-medical" types. Again, if you don't like what I have to say, don't read my blog. You can comment and I won't delete it, but I'm not forcing you to continue to read.
-Justin Martyr (only religiously inclined people would understand, but whatever. Educate yourself!)
posted by runrMD08 at 1:40 PM
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