Archive for September, 2008

There’s something about Med-blogging

// September 30th, 2008 // 8 Comments » // Health

When medical staff blog, it incites controversy. Patients, doctors, nurses, EMT all regularly share their experiences. Some blogs are like mini scientific journals. Some blogs are about simply living life. Some blogs are snippets of clinical contact. Some blogs are clearly letting off steam. Some blogs share, or celebrate. Some blogs are a discourse on a crazy experience in a broken health system.

It seems that the world thinks that we can no longer trust common sense. Increasingly, confidentiality is regulated. Patient contact is regulated. And, as a doctor, I am apparently no longer expected to take responsibility for my own actions or my own opinions. Furthermore, issues with hospitals, universities and medical indemnity are no longer the limit. Blogging carries a personal risk and a risk to innocent bystanders. And this is all in an educated society, where people should know how to behave.

I am a relative newcomer to this topic, as I have been blogging for only 12 months or so, and most of that has been more technology- than patient-focussed. I expect that someone in my real world will eventually start to notice that I blog. This is technology-terrified-Australia, so that will probably lead to problems.

Is it getting too hard? Shouldn’t we all just quit? It would be easier on our careers and would take the great big target off our elitist backs.

But blogging makes us better. Patients read about doctors who doubt. Doctors read about patients who are angry. Doctors read about EMTs who are scared, or nurses who are frustrated. We get to know people we would never otherwise talk to. And as a patient, I don’t want my doctor/nurse/tech to lose their pressure valve.

In my medical school, we were told our career risk of litigation was about 20%. And if we weren’t sued, then we weren’t doing enough medicine. Medical blogging is risky because it is important. I choose to continue, to take responsibility for what I say and write. I expect it will be years before I face any consequences, but my blogging colleagues are facing them now.

Medbloggers, I wish you well. May sanity prevail.

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Remembering Pennie

// September 26th, 2008 // 5 Comments » // Family

I just attended the funeral of Pennie Puckey, my primary school principal. She was a major influence in my life growing up, and I wanted to remember her briefly (indulgently) here.

Pennie was

  • The founder of my primary school, Plenty Valley Montessori School, which is now a thriving community. More history here.
  • The first single mother I knew, who taught me that having a loving family unit does not require two adults
  • The person who taught me to write, using sandpaper letters
  • One of those people who spent a lot of time singing.
  • The first adult apart from my parents who I remember seeing naked (Edited to explain: Pennie’s daughter was a very close friend when I was in primary school, and she treated me like a daughter when I stayed over)

  • One of the reasons I never understood hippies until my teenage years, when I could look at the teachers at my school more critically

  • Always loving, always caring, like a mum away from home.

    Pennie had the opportunity to meet death with warning, to plan her remembrance service and pen her own eulogy. Which is partly why her coffin was painted with flowers, and we all sang along (Take Me Home Country Roads, and Wish Me Luck as you Wave me Goodbye).

    In her own words:

    Have a drink of champagne, or a billy tea

    With some brie and bread or an anzac biscuit for me

    Get up and sing a song, loud and clear and true

    Remember me how I’ll always think of you

    Jenifer Pennie Puckey

    18/1/1946 - 19/9/2008

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    • DrCris’ Australian Music picks

    // September 25th, 2008 // 6 Comments » // Links

    I have had some requests from my international friends for recommendations of Australian music. So apologies to Aussies who read this blog. Please feel free to disagree with me and post your suggestions in the comments. I know this is a longish list, but the first section is worth working through, in my humble opinion.

    As an disclaimer, I listen to a lot of folky-pop. So if you like a different style, you are unlikely to like all of these. I also listen to a lot of international stuff, but that is not what this post is about. I am linking to the artists website where possible. Last.fm will also let you listen to a 30s sample of music, and usually have a link to the itunes store entry.

    My current favourite folky pop

    And some Aussie standards, classic pub bands

    And, according to Last.fm, this aussie band, is my most played.

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    Parenting compromise rewarded

    // September 23rd, 2008 // 6 Comments » // Family, Surgery

    car crash_stupidfotos.jpg

    It was a Saturday with so many appointments, that we resorted to “split parenting”. I had just finished a parent-wet swimming lesson with my 2 year old, MissZ, and we were meeting the boys at a friend’s house.

    MissZ had the dubious advantage of being old enough to understand when I recently returned to full time work. Dropping her off at childcare has been traumatic for both of us recently. Let’s just say she is closer to her Dad at the moment.

    So we were driving and rehashing the swimming lesson (My job, apparently, is to catch her when she jumps in, and tell her she is amazing). We came over a hill, and saw a car in a roadside paddock, and an unsteady man being helped to the side of the road. This has never happened to me before. Not only had I come across an accident before emergency services arrived, but I actually remembered I was a doctor!

    So I pulled over, and asked MissZ to wait for me. I explained that there was a man who was sick and I needed to help him feel better.

    “Because you’re a doctor and you will make him feel better. That’s ok. I’ll wait here, Mummy.”

    My heart melted for my big girl.

    I hopped out and picked through the mud to help the guy, who was badly shaken, but not injured. During the process of waiting for the ambulance and police to arrive, we organized a waterproof horse blanket for the bloke to lie on (this was horse-country). Every five minutes I went back to the car to check on MissZ.

    She was completely calm. I had stopped the car above the accident, and she had a clear view from her car seat. Each time I went to check on her, she described what was happening, and asked questions about “The man.”

    Although kids make medicine more difficult, and doctoring makes parenting more difficult, I hit the big time that weekend. Everyone at the party heard about her Doctor Mummy, who helped the man. Through the next week, I also got lots of cuddles. Unfortunately, the experience didn’t reach the giddy heights of appreciation of “Poppy milking the cow to feed to the calf”. But for a few days, I was “Mummy the doctor who makes people feel better”. And I couldn’t be that Mummy without accepting compromise.

    Photo credit: Stupid.fotos

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