thoughts on the news of the day: doctor's devices

hmmm…..

            I have wondered for years why the medical profession didn’t make better use of technology in keeping patients records.  It seemed to me that logging a patient’s history on a laptop disk made lots more sense than keeping a room full of files crammed with papers.  As the years have gone by, doctors and nurses have more and more come to use electronic devices to keep track of patient’s status, medications, etc.

            But there is a troubling trend becoming the norm in medicine.  Apparently more and more doctors and nurses are using smart phones, iPads and other computers to surf the web; checking emails, texting and even shopping on ebay.  So, lets see, a doctor is performing surgery while making phone calls to his family and friends using a bluetooth audio device.  A nurse is checking airline reservations during a heart procedure.  And, while examining a patient, the physician also checks his twitter account. 

            It’s not good.  Medical personnel can easily be distracted by these devices and mistakes are made – costly mistakes.  In one instance, a patient was partially paralyzed because of just such behavior by a doctor.

            I know of a therapist who uses a laptop to keep notes on clients while they are talking about their problems.  H usually explains to his patients what he is doing.  But still, I think tapping away at a computer would be rather disconcerting, even though it actually is in the patients best interest.

            Maybe the best thing to do is to tell the medical professional when we think the behavior is inappropriate.  Of course that is a little difficult to do when you are under anesthetic, but in other cases, it is always OK to safeguard our health.  More and more today, the advice is being given to pay attention to our own medical care. Maybe this is a good place to start.

            hmmm…... 

thoughts on the news of the day: protesters

hmmm…..

            Interestingly enough, Time magazine’s person of the year for 2011 is The Protester.  When the  choice was announced,  I imagine several folks were disappointed that it wasn’t one name instead of many  – it wasn’t them.  Steve Jobs could have been named or Kate Middleton.  Then there’s Gabriel Giffords and Rep. Paul Ryan.

            But after a year of thought, Time chose ”the protester”.  This obviously includes lots of folks, folks who are unnamed, but nevertheless have had a huge impact on the events of 2011.  For the most part, the protesters have been righteous.  Take for example, those who protested the governments of Libya and Egypt, and Syria.  They won the freedom of many people in the middle east and will not be forgotten.  Then there are the protesters who Occupy Wall Street.  Some might say those who protested big business, big banks and their greed were misguided and well, wrong.  But, they persisted and a movement was born.

            Then, there are the individual protesters named.  People like Molly Katchpole who began the protest against debit card fees. She started her protest online and was able to collect over 306,000 signatures.  And also, Loukanikos, a stray dog, who followed along Athens protesters and made a name for himself.

            It is probably good that people stand up for themselves and fight for what is right.  After all, that is what our forefathers did to make our country, the United States, a place where all people can be free and have the right to assemble peacefully to plead their cause.  But I think that what happens after the protest is even more important than the protest itself.  If nothings changes, nothing changes. 

            Maybe Time is right about the protesters.  .  Maybe this time things will change and in the end we will find peace and harmony once again.  It could happen.

            hmmm..,.,.,.,

thoughts on the news of the day: dreidels and dragons

hmmm…..

            It’s Christmas School Pageants time.  I guess it is more politically correct to say Holiday programs.  Ambivalent parents all over the country have marked off an evening to proudly video their children and patiently endure the remainder of the program.  I have to say for myself, I showed up for many an elementary school program when my daughter was young and I suspect that grandchildren will take over that tradition someday. 

            Those programs aren’t all bad, though.  When we lived in Austin while I was in seminary, my daughter attended the best elementary school ever.  It was nestled in a neighborhood close to the University of Texas campus, so many of the professor’s and graduate student’s children attended there,  It was a mini United Nations.  Physically the campus was small.  It could hold only about 300 or so children, while the average population of an Austin school was about 600 students at the time.  But, the proud and loyal, not mention long-time school principal fiercely held on to the goal of maintaining the school despite objections by AISD school administration.

            At any rate, they also had the best Christmas program ever.  It commemorated  the holidays of Kwanza, Hanukah,  the Chinese New Year, and Christmas.  The spinning of the Jewish Dreidel was highlighted, as well as the parade of the Chinese dragon.  There was also an interesting twist on the Christmas story.  Being in central Texas, the children enacted the Mexican tradition of Posada which is the story of Joseph and Mary going from inn to inn looking for a place to stay.  No matter what religion, it is an endearing story of a poor family needing a place to lay their head one night.

            I think it is important to teach our kids that there are many ways to celebrate this time of year.  Let’s support our diversity but also honor the generosity and goodwill of the season.  We owe that to our children.

            hmmm…..