"A doctor, like anyone else who has to deal with human beings, each of them unique, cannot be a scientist; he is either, like the surgeon, a craftsman, or, like the physician and the psychologist, an artist. This means that in order to be a good doctor a man must also have a good character, that is to say, whatever weaknesses and foibles he may have, he must love his fellow human beings in the concrete and desire their good before his own."

Auden, W. H. on Doctors

Getting drunk can affect a surgeon’s proficiency (laparoscopic surgeons) especially his/her psychomotor skills, the following day. This is in accordance with a two-part study involving 16 medical students and eight experienced surgeons. According to the researchers, they were shocked to find out that psychomotor skills for a relatively straightforward task that the individuals were very good at would be significantly impaired on the following day even at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. The result of the study thus suggests that if you have too much to drink, your performance is significantly degraded the following day.


Based from the researchers, the findings of the study is also applicable not only for laparoscopic surgeons wearing landau scrubs but also to those who use guided imagery to perform procedures such as threading cathethers through the heart or targeting radiation for cancer treatment. Even some eye and neurosurgeons avoid drinking coffee prior to operating, or make sure they are well hydrated before entering the OR in order to avoid any tremors that could affect their performance during the procedure. 


Read more: Going Under the Knife? Ask Your Surgeon How Much He Drank Last Night

Ever heard of lab coat etiquette?

Actually, this is the first time that I've read about the symbolism of the length of lab coat that physicians and nurses are wearing. But this etiquette only applied before, not presently. Today, the length of lab coats, does not matter that much but what really matters is the comfort and sometimes the style of the lab coat used. This so called "lab coat etiquette" faded already as time passed by. 

On the other hand, if we have this lab coat etiquette, it could tell us the credentials of doctors we are dealing with. This could be a great help for patients and people who are looking for effective and high ranking doctors. Nevertheless, the only disadvantage it might bring could be discrimination on the part of doctors and nurses. Good thing there is no dress code for lab coats nowadays. :)

In a survey of 940 primary-care physicians evaluating one of two hypothetical medical scenarios, it is found out that doctors when given a chance to choose for themselves, were more likely to choose for treatments with a higher chance of death though lower danger of side effects. However, the study doesn’t necessary mean that physicians always make less risky decisions for their patients than for themselves.

The study had given patients a glimpse to not ask advice from a doctor if he/she doesn’t understand you a little better including your perception of the quality of life and length of life.


The  research author Dr. Peter Ubel, an internist and behavioral scientist at Duke University further said that “when you put on the doctor’s hat (or should I say, scrubs uniforms), it changes how your decide.” Yet it is still important that doctors should consider in their decisions their patients' perception and values, and not only their own insights and principles, eh.

Let’s face it. Many teenagers nowadays can’t live without using social media. According to a poll by Common Sense Media, more than half of teenagers visit their favourite social media site more than once a day, and nearly a quarter log on more than 10 times a day and seventy-five percent of teens have cell phones, which they use mainly for texting and to access social media.

Unlike before, parents these days are worried about the social, emotional and health effects of cyberbullying addictions of their teens, that’s why, even the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is calling on pediatricians wearing uniforms scrubs to incorporate questions about social media usage into doctor visits. In a clinical report released Monday, the Academy had even offered guidance to people in uniforms scrubs and as well as to parents on how to peek into the online lives of kids without seeming to pry. They further said that “with this generation of kids, they kind of emerged online before parents taught them the dangers of being online; parents would never put a kid behind the wheel without driver's education. If parents take that approach with younger kids who are growing up, those kids will be much better off.”


Thus, the formation of strategy aimed to parents and to men and women in uniforms scrubs as well. Doctors were also given the duty to encourage parents to improve their tech and cyber skills too.


Looking unto the call of AAP to doctors makes me wonder if it is still part of the obligation of the doctor to do these things. Do you think that this is the primary duty of parents (not of doctors)? And as a parent, it is a shame that even your doctor will be the one who will remind you and urge you to watch out for your kids social media addiction, instead of you watching out for your child’s care and welfare, eh.

 
Those doctors, who could feel the pain, heal more patients. According to the new study published in the Journal Academic Medicine, doctors who are more emphatic have healthier patients than those who are not.

What is empathy anyway?

According to Wikipedia, empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings (such as sadness or happiness) that are being experienced by another semi-sentient being.

Hence, is empathy a good quality that doctors in scrub uniforms must possess?

Ironically, it was also claimed that clinicians, caregivers, doctors and other men and women wearing scrub uniforms must take care not to be too sensitive to the emotions of others, to over-invest their own emotions, at the risk of draining away their own resourcefulness. Moreover an understanding of the limitations of empathic accuracy is discreet in a care giving situation.

Thus, a balance attitude towards the patients is a need in being a doctor. The absence of compassion to patients can make a heartless and ineffective doctor but an overwhelming emphatic doctor can also makes healthcare unbearable, to the point of not healing the patient.

Male and female doctors are not just separated by their gender but also by their incomes. According to the latest research on the salary of doctors, there has been a widening gender gap in starting salaries for female doctors, rising from a difference of $3,600 in 1999 to $16,819 in 2008. The percentage of female doctors taking less lucrative primary care positions fell from 49% in 1999 to 34% in 2008. Yet, when broken down by specialty, women were still making less than their male counterparts in every field except general surgery, in which women earned an average of $11,000 more per year than men.

What is the implication of this study?

The study doesn’t imply that this world is a man’s world and women are considered as inferior. Nor, men and women at the hospital are not just identified with their uniform skirts and men’s scrub pants, but even with their salaries. This doesn't also mean that women are inferior to men since in general surgery, women doctors wearing surgical shoes have higher pays. However, the main reason in accordance with the study is that women doctors are not just into work but into relationships. According to the researchers, it is not in a way surprising. Women doctors traditionally choose lower-paying jobs in primary care fields or they choose to work fewer hours. This is for the reason that they are giving more time with their families and relationships in comparison with male doctors.

Does this mean that male doctors are not? Well, asking a male and female doctor will not hurt, eh.



Read more: Pay Gap Between Male and Female Doctors Gets Wider and Wider

A new study implies that surgeons wearing scrubs for men/women and dickies pants most likely think about suicidal thoughts if they committed medical errors, experienced job burnouts and depression. But, ironically they are the persons who are less likely to seek help. Other reasons are being unmarried, divorced and childless and other factors also could have contributed to a possibility for suicidal thought.


However, the survey only asked surgeons, so it is not known if they have a higher rate of suicidal tendencies than other men and women in dickies pants and scrubs for men/women (the doctors).

You may ask why above all profession, those who are trained to heal, cure and save lives have more capacity to have dying and suicidal thoughts. I guess it’s because commonly, doctors think of imperfections as failures, hence they are more prone to suicidal thoughts unlike other professions (except military). Pride and self worth also hinders them to ask for help thus, preventing their own selves cure for their suicidal tendencies.


Doctors are trained and taught that their patients are their responsibility. But come to think of it, they have also responsibility with their own lives; to make it healthy, not just physically but emotionally, morally, socially, MENTALLY, and spiritually. Being healthy with these aspects will not only make them responsible on their own lives but also on their patients’ lives.
Read more:  Errors Lead Surgeon to Contemplate Suicide

Hey, it's been a while, eh. Last year had been a very hectic and busy year for me especially for the last two months. So, I haven't find time to visit and post on this particular blog. I kinda miss blogging. Whew! But now, it's another year to posts various medical issues, comments and humble opinions with regards to our health and especially about medical personnel wearing mens scrubs or nurse skirts.


My mom often told me that without the past there will never be a future nor the present. Indeed, the past medical issues that doctors were involved to are one of the bases of our present view on what is right and wrong when it comes to medical ethics. The unethical acts of doctors in mens scrubs before are still the acts that some doctors are doing today and will get even worse in the future. For, I believe that as time goes by, generation from generation are getting crooked and more crooked, eh, and some doctors are not an exception here.


Remember the unexpected death of Michael Jackson? Of course who of us would forget the King of Pop and his sudden death? The world was shocked. But what really got my curiosity at that time was, what could be the cause of death of the famous musician?


Presently, the answer lies in the hands of his doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray. He was accused of negligence and one of the causes of the untimely death of the singer. I read a caption of the ongoing trial today, and I will quote some of the words from two opposing lawyers of the said case.




During closing arguments, defense attorney Joseph Low IV argued the case should be dismissed because prosecutors didn't adequately prove how Murray caused Jackson's death.He also suggested Jackson's health may have been a contributing cause, saying,

Deputy District Attorney David Walgren angrily disagreed.

So, here we could see two conflicting views. Both have their own points and errors. Both can be considered by the judge and even by the people who are watching for the outcome of the trial. And certainly, death is something that we can't avoid, even in this advanced technology of ours. Hospital workers in mens scrubs and womens scrubs can attest to that. However, though we can't avoid death, we as humans, especially the doctors have the choice to fight for the life of his patients. Any actions in particular can either help or kill.


But who has the real point that can hit the fact as well as the conscience of the people and the judge? Well, let's wait till this trial is over, eh.