EM and frivolous pop culture

[Febrifuge]

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This is admittedly a stretch, but it's been my experience that while plenty of residents in hospital corridors can't tell Jessica Simpson from Homer Simpson, EM people a) do seem to get out now and then, and b) like to enjoy downtime. Thus, EM people might know what I'm talking about when I say that...

1) "House" is a pretty good show, at least judging by the pilot episode that was thoughtfully included in a recent Entertainment Weekly. Putting the only decent new medical show in the last 3 years up against "Scrubs" is just plain stupid, however. Watch it now, before Fox screws up and it goes down the tubes.

and

2) Speaking of "Scrubs." you really can "call Turk" at 916-CALL-TURK. I think we should all leave messages saying they need to include some EM on the show. Consults, turf wars, something. EM is way funnier than IM.

 

[DOrk]

2) Speaking of "Scrubs." you really can "call Turk" at 916-CALL-TURK. I think we should all leave messages saying they need to include some EM on the show. Consults, turf wars, something. EM is way funnier than IM.[/QUOTE]

Or maybe the American Osteopathic Association should send postcards to Turk asking him to reveal that he's actually a DO.

 

[kungfufishing]

Or maybe the American Osteopathic Association should send postcards to Turk asking him to reveal that he's actually a DO.[/QUOTE]

what a weird idea that whole campaign is. I agree that the awareness of the osteopathic profession could use some advancement, but petitioning TV writers might not be the best approach.

 

[BadVB750]

Maybe the AOA should have invested that money in their residencies programs.

 

[scooter31]

916 is the area code for Sacramento. Interesting. 👍

 

[VienneseWaltz]

1) "House" is a pretty good show, at least judging by the pilot episode that was thoughtfully included in a recent Entertainment Weekly. Putting the only decent new medical show in the last 3 years up against "Scrubs" is just plain stupid, however. Watch it now, before Fox screws up and it goes down the tubes.

Hmm ... had a look this evening, probably not going to make it onto my DVR (that's our cable company's much cheaper version of TiVo) list ...

Overwraught performances, tired stereotypes, unlikely conversations, glamorization of maverick behavior that would get your license yanked or at the very least get you sued ... And people say "E.R." is an overdramatization ... Have to say that "Scrubs" definitely wins this one. 😛

 

[roja]

scrubs is great! nothing beats the internal dialogue

 

[Sessamoid]

scrubs is great! nothing beats the internal dialogue

I'm having enough trouble dealing my my own internal dialogue! What do I need with someone elses?

😉

 

[roja]

I'm having enough trouble dealing my my own internal dialogue! What do I need with someone elses?

😉

but is yours as funny? 😀

 

[Febrifuge]

I'm having enough trouble dealing my my own internal dialogue! What do I need with someone elses?

Hmmm... I wonder why Sessamoid said that? Sesamoid bones are weird. I maybe saw some in those ribs that one time. Hey, look! Cookies! Awesome. Wow, I have got to clean this desk. My nose itches.

Actually, I think Turk and JD went to the same med school, so they would both have to be DO's, or neither. Maybe Elliott could be one, though. She's been so status-conscious and insecure in the past that she could have failed to mention she's not an MD all this time. It would be sort of funny if she's "outed" and then nobody cares because a DO is a doc is a doc. Or maybe Kelso is a DO as well. This would all be funnier if the "Scrubs" writers got a hold of it.

And "House" was definitely a long way from realistic, but I dug the way it made a detective show out of an obscure diagnosis. A couple of moments there, it really looked like somebody from the medical profession had walked the actors through stuff. Faint praise, yeah, but still.

 

[Sessamoid]

but is yours as funny? 😀

That's for me to know and me to find out.

 

[roja]

That's for me to know and me to find out.

Is that a challenge??? 😉

 

[YzIa]

2) Speaking of "Scrubs." you really can "call Turk" at 916-CALL-TURK. I think we should all leave messages saying they need to include some EM on the show. Consults, turf wars, something. EM is way funnier than IM.

Wouldn't that make J.D. a DO also? In a last season episode they made reference to JD and Turk going to college and med school together.


edit

Damn, beaten to the punch

 

[Sessamoid]

Is that a challenge??? 😉

I don't know. I'll let you know when we figure it out! 🙂

 

[pushinepi2]

Maybe the AOA should have invested that money in their residencies programs.

AMEN and glory glory hallelujah! In spite of ourselves, we seem to always be improving. You know, I've been sent all sorts of ridiculous emails from student government officials and AOA related sites about carrying the torch of DOs on TV shows. All this time, money, and effort, at a time when the DO GME infrastructure suffers from a lack of attention. They way DO's get noticed, as with any other competent physician, is to contribute meaningfully in the field. Having some sort of poster child with a "DO" attached to his name tag is just as stupid and demeaning as the license plate that says, "DO stands for doctor." If the profession needs an injection of self respect, I would suggest some alternative strategies:

1. Focus energy into dually-accrediting reputable programs that have a committment to training the best physicians possible, both MD and DO.

2. Develop stronger relationships with established teaching hospitals instead of looking to provide cheap labor to smaller rural or community institutions.

3. Stay true to the maverick philophy that permeated the professions early days... pay attention to the winds of change. Stop shouting the praises of primary care and encourage applicants / graduates to excel at a specaility/generalist discipline of their choosing.

4. Stop pouring money into dual boards and dual training programs.. there is a burgeoning trend in both MD and DO literature that testifies to the value/cost effectiveness of combined training programs. Yes, it is indeed possible for MDs to grasp the concepts of manual medicine.

5. Send a postcard to Noah Wylie asking him to crack someones back and laud the benefits of long term rib raising in the termination of supraventricular tachycardia... sigh....

6. Send the money wasted on this spurious campaign and put it into a general fund to subsidize the freaking comlex level II ocse/spe/fake patient encounter in philadelphia!

Ok, I'm done venting for now. Lemme go back to my postcard.

Push