Everything I Learned in Medical School: Besides All the Book Stuff by Sujay M. Kansagra Md Page A
Authors: Sujay M. Kansagra Md
Tags: nonfiction
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said.
“A pool. It’s getting hot outside, so the family wants a pool.”
A pool for a patient with seizures is like a hemophiliac taking up knife juggling as a hobby. Any way you slice it, not a good idea. All it takes is one seizure in the pool with no one around to kill this child. So, the doctor calmly replied,
“That’s definitely not a good idea, given your daughter’s seizures.”
“Well, it’s going to be one of those pools that sits above the ground, so she can’t really fall in.”
“Still not a good idea.”
The mother was obviously looking for approval from the doctor for this pool, but was not going to get it. I couldn’t believe they would even consider it. I truly wanted to grab the woman and just shake her. But alas, shaking people is looked down upon in medical school, and even after.
So the patient left, saying they’d think more about it, but it seemed like she was pretty set on the idea. Rather unfortunate for the daughter she was supposedly caring for.
So far, my theory of human evolution seemed on target. It only seemed logical that such a parent would have a lower probability of having her genes continually passed on. But there was one problem with my theory…sheer numbers! This mother had five children. Surely, her genes would live on for generations to come. In fact, she would go on to have more descendents than almost anyone else I know, due to the simple fact she was spitting out lots of children.
In a world where Darwin’s theory of natural selection does not apply to humans, we will undoubtedly stop evolving into more fit, more adapted creatures. Our gene pool will begin to favor those that can simply produce the largest quantity of descendants, not necessarily the most fit. Sadly, this could mean that we are indeed evolving, just in the wrong direction.
Chapter 23
A New Flavor of Chip
The anatomy lab was a constant stimulation to the senses. We would see the inner workings of the human body. We would hear lectures from leading anatomists. The smell of the formalin-preserved cadavers would flood our noses every time we stepped into the lab. And we would feel the bones, the muscles, and the organs of our cadaver as we dissected further and further. All the senses were covered…almost.
Potato chips were one of my staples during lunch break. On one occasion, I had only gotten halfway through a bag, and the rest was left unfinished, tucked away in my bookbag, and forgotten about. For three hours every other day, the bookbag was left in the locker room of the anatomy lab.
Two weeks later, while studying in the library, I came across this bag of uneaten potato chips. It’s a good feeling when you find food unexpectedly. After the first bite of the potato chips, there was a funny taste, something that was somewhat familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. Maybe they are just a little stale, I thought, but kept eating. A few of my fellow classmates soon walked in and joined my table. Being the nice person that I am, my potato chips were placed in the middle of the table as a communal offering. One of them took the offer, and began eating a chip. He stopped mid bite, a look of horror and disgust filled his face.
“These chips taste like dead people!”
Ahh yes, so that was the familiar taste. The smell of the formalin preservative from the anatomy lab had set into my chips. The chips were left unfinished. A lesson learned – the anatomy lab lockers were not a place to store food, and when it comes to chips, stick with the BBQ flavor.
Chapter 24
The First Patient
During our very first year of medical school, we would participate in what was known as the Practice Course for half a day each week. This was a class in which we would learn the art of medicine, such as how to interview patients, ways to build rapport, etc. As part of the course, during the end of our first year, we were set up with a doctor to follow around clinic a half day each
“A pool. It’s getting hot outside, so the family wants a pool.”
A pool for a patient with seizures is like a hemophiliac taking up knife juggling as a hobby. Any way you slice it, not a good idea. All it takes is one seizure in the pool with no one around to kill this child. So, the doctor calmly replied,
“That’s definitely not a good idea, given your daughter’s seizures.”
“Well, it’s going to be one of those pools that sits above the ground, so she can’t really fall in.”
“Still not a good idea.”
The mother was obviously looking for approval from the doctor for this pool, but was not going to get it. I couldn’t believe they would even consider it. I truly wanted to grab the woman and just shake her. But alas, shaking people is looked down upon in medical school, and even after.
So the patient left, saying they’d think more about it, but it seemed like she was pretty set on the idea. Rather unfortunate for the daughter she was supposedly caring for.
So far, my theory of human evolution seemed on target. It only seemed logical that such a parent would have a lower probability of having her genes continually passed on. But there was one problem with my theory…sheer numbers! This mother had five children. Surely, her genes would live on for generations to come. In fact, she would go on to have more descendents than almost anyone else I know, due to the simple fact she was spitting out lots of children.
In a world where Darwin’s theory of natural selection does not apply to humans, we will undoubtedly stop evolving into more fit, more adapted creatures. Our gene pool will begin to favor those that can simply produce the largest quantity of descendants, not necessarily the most fit. Sadly, this could mean that we are indeed evolving, just in the wrong direction.
Chapter 23
A New Flavor of Chip
The anatomy lab was a constant stimulation to the senses. We would see the inner workings of the human body. We would hear lectures from leading anatomists. The smell of the formalin-preserved cadavers would flood our noses every time we stepped into the lab. And we would feel the bones, the muscles, and the organs of our cadaver as we dissected further and further. All the senses were covered…almost.
Potato chips were one of my staples during lunch break. On one occasion, I had only gotten halfway through a bag, and the rest was left unfinished, tucked away in my bookbag, and forgotten about. For three hours every other day, the bookbag was left in the locker room of the anatomy lab.
Two weeks later, while studying in the library, I came across this bag of uneaten potato chips. It’s a good feeling when you find food unexpectedly. After the first bite of the potato chips, there was a funny taste, something that was somewhat familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. Maybe they are just a little stale, I thought, but kept eating. A few of my fellow classmates soon walked in and joined my table. Being the nice person that I am, my potato chips were placed in the middle of the table as a communal offering. One of them took the offer, and began eating a chip. He stopped mid bite, a look of horror and disgust filled his face.
“These chips taste like dead people!”
Ahh yes, so that was the familiar taste. The smell of the formalin preservative from the anatomy lab had set into my chips. The chips were left unfinished. A lesson learned – the anatomy lab lockers were not a place to store food, and when it comes to chips, stick with the BBQ flavor.
Chapter 24
The First Patient
During our very first year of medical school, we would participate in what was known as the Practice Course for half a day each week. This was a class in which we would learn the art of medicine, such as how to interview patients, ways to build rapport, etc. As part of the course, during the end of our first year, we were set up with a doctor to follow around clinic a half day each
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