what would u do if your family member..

[chef]

---

Members don't see this ad.

this si prolly for future surgeons & pathologists..

surgeons, if your immediate family member, relative, or best friend is diagnosed w/ cancer or something, would u want to operate on him/her yourself? or would u not do it & why?

similarly, path docs, would u feel comfy performin autopsy on your family & relatives?

 

[doc05]

that would be very unprofessional.

 

[Amy]

Originally posted by doc05
that would be very unprofessional.

And unethical. You can't make objective decisions about the medical care of your loved ones. I would feel very uncomfortable operating on someone close to me... too much emotion involved.

 

[emedCleo]

If my loved one needed surgery, I'd want the best person for the job & that certainly would not be me. As for an autopsy, I'd want to read the results, but I hardly think I'd want to get any more hands on than that.

In chef's scenario I'd rather be a hand-holder than hands-on.

cleo

 

[....]

If you want something done right, do it yourself.

I know I would never be allowed to, but i would want to do it myself. It one of the reasons i have never cheated on a test by looking at someone elses paper. I simply trust myself over others. Though it would be a huge risk to ME phsyologicaly. If it turned out bad i dont know if i could ever stop second guessing myself.

 

[Sessamoid]

One of my colleagues in residency was the senior resident in the ED when his fiancee was brought in after a fall from her horse. Her lower extremities were paralyzed in the fall. My friend is a pretty tough guy, but he was an emotional wreck that day and for at least a week afterwards. We let him off that day and covered his shifts for the week.

If you think you can actually hold a knife still much less perform surgery under such circumstances, you either have no heart or you've never actually been through that kind of situation.

 

[applicant2002]

Originally posted by Sessamoid

If you think you can actually hold a knife still much less perform surgery under such circumstances, you either have no heart or you've never actually been through that kind of situation.

I respect what you are saying and I understand where you are coming from, but did you hear about the son, who, when he was little, had his hands chopped off in an accident? His dad, a surgeon, and his mom, a nurse, put them back together... and now he's on his way to becoming a surgeon.
So while I understand that emotions can be hard to separate, I do not feel that you are heartless if you can "actually hold a knife still much less perform surgery under such circumstances."

 

[....]

""If you think you can actually hold a knife still much less perform surgery under such circumstances, you either have no heart or you've never actually been through that kind of situation.""

Its one thing to be emotional when its appropriate and logical. But to praise emotional infirmaty in a time of need is not cool.
What if your mom had a heart attack with only you around? Would it be any differnet to desire you to keep you cool so you can save her life than i t would to desire the best surgeon for the job, husband or not, to be just as cool. Im not saying its realistic most of the time, but it is desirable.

 

[fava]

my mom, who's been a nurse for almost 30 years, and sticks people all day long, refuses to even draw my blood.
i can't really figure out why, since i think she's probably better at it than a lot of the people i've had do it.

something about causing her kids pain, i think.

 

[Sessamoid]

Originally posted by applicant2002
I respect what you are saying and I understand where you are coming from, but did you hear about the son, who, when he was little, had his hands chopped off in an accident?

Nope, I haven't heard of it, and just because somebody says it happened on an anonymous board doesn't make be believe. Maybe it did happen, but I'd say that's the exception rather than the rule. And if they had no choice because nobody else was around, then fine. You what you have to do. But I don't think it's a good idea in general.

You've heard a story about something that happened. I've actually seen what happens to a person when the situation arises. I'll take my personal experience until I find out better.

I've also seen a surgeon nearly pass out when he watched one our ER nurses draw blood from his wife. It's very different when it's somebody you love.

 

[....]

""But I don't think it's a good idea in general.""\

I dont think anyone does. But it would be NICE if the best person for the job could preform the surgery. Our emotions can get in the way of that. It is unfourtunate.

 

[applicant2002]

Originally posted by Sessamoid
Nope, I haven't heard of it, and just because somebody says it happened on an anonymous board doesn't make be believe. Maybe it did happen, but I'd say that's the exception rather than the rule. And if they had no choice because nobody else was around, then fine. You what you have to do. But I don't think it's a good idea in general.

From http://www.umdnj.edu/umcweb/hstate/sum03/pulse/pulse01_graduation.htm



WOOSIK CHUNG, MD

In 1978, while playing "hide-n-seek" as a three year old in his native South Korea, Woosik Chung reached out to catch the whirring fan of a tractor engine, and completely severed both hands. His parents?a surgeon and a nurse?rushed him to a hospital. It was a national holiday, so there was only a skeleton staff at the hospital. Although Dr. Chung had never attempted this type of operation before, he took his son into surgery and re-attached his hands, with his wife and a surgical team assisting. To help the youngster with rehabilitation, Woosik?s grandfather, a Tae Kwan Do master, trained his grandson in the martial arts. Chung became so proficient that several years after moving with his family to the U.S., he qualified for the national Tae Kwan Do team. He would have competed for a spot on the 2002 U.S. Olympic team if the allure of medicine hadn?t drawn him to enroll at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. After graduating, Chung will pursue a residency in orthopedic surgery at Columbia University Presbyterian Hospital. He plans to specialize in hand surgery because, he says, "The best way I can thank my dad is to help someone else in a similar situation." Chung is the subject of an upcoming article in People magazine.