April 12th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Medblogger Shout Outs
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I recently wrote about some awkward moments that I’ve had with my patients over the years. However, I think that Shadowfax’s blog post may win the award for most distressing patient encounter.
A hospitalized, elderly man was very ill and had requested to be considered DNR (do not resuscitate). Many years prior he had had a defibrillator implanted so that his heart would be automatically shocked if it went into an abnormal rhythm. His family gathered around him as he died peacefully from old age coupled with infection. The defibrillator, however, correctly recognized an “abnormal heart rhythm” (i.e. a flat line) and continued to shock the deceased man’s heart at regular intervals, causing his chest to twitch in front of his pained family members. The hospital’s defibrillator magnet (the off-switch for the device) had been misplaced, and so physicians were left to call neighboring hospitals and cardiologists to try to shut the machine off.
In the process of trying to locate the magnet, the doctors had to identify the brand of the defibrillator – a Saint Jude device. As it happened, one of the doctors receiving the request for the magnet was Catholic, and recognized the grim irony of the situation.
Saint Jude is the patron saint of lost causes.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
April 4th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Humor
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Today I attended a lecture given by an orthopedic surgeon. He was in his early 40’s, tall, and athletic in appearance. He spoke about spinal injuries the way a young boy would talk about crashing his toys together – vertebrae were “smashed, crunched, or wrecked” in various ways. He showed the audience various CT scans and x-rays of the neck, and proudly described the hardware he used to fuse spinal segments. Here are some choice quotes from his lecture:
“I think I’m losing my voice. I don’t talk that much at home because I have all girls. Um… so the cement from a kyphoplasty can get into the veins and travel to the lungs, but it’s not like a big clump gets in them or anything. It’s more like little tiny microscopic pieces of cement. You know, they kind of cause bronchio… bronchiec… broncho… broncholectasis or something. I don’t remember. But if your vertebral body is smushed, what are you going to do? It’s just really awesome to stick that balloon in there and blow up the area. With kyphoplasty you get less… whatever that word is… spill of cement
…So with the thoracic spine I come at it from the back because otherwise the heart gets in the way. Also, I use a posterior approach because then I don’t need another surgeon in there with me, and it’s hard to find them on Saturday mornings.
…If you see lateral translation of the spine then you know you’ve torn everything up. I mean, that thing is going to be a disaster zone so you may as well just go in there with all you’ve got. Hey, if you need surgery, you need surgery. But if a high c-spine injury isn’t unstable then don’t immobilize it or it’ll freeze up like an elbow. You won’t be able to do much more than move your eyes.
…And here’s a case of a guy with Tuberculosis in his spine. We opened that sucker up and it just poured out all over the place. It was awesome. He’s totally fine now.”
I was trying so hard not to giggle throughout this “academic lecture.” It was actually kind of refreshing to get the straight scoop on spinal surgery from an orthopedist who obviously loves what he does. But at the same time, I felt strangely nervous…This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
April 3rd, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Medblogger Shout Outs
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Well, I know that blog post title probably got your attention. I’m referring, of course, to the unusual career path of Paul Levy, CEO of Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Paul has done wonderful things over the past several years as CEO, including using his blog to promote outcomes transparency (by making his hospital’s infection rates public) and being accessible to all his staff via Facebook.
I had the chance to speak with Paul at Dr. Anonymous’ Blog Talk Radio show tonight. You should listen to the podcast to learn more about the world of hospital administration, Paul’s life journey, and what constitutes quality care in medicine. Here are some choice quotes from the call:
“I’m from New York, actually, which is something you don’t say very often when you live in Boston. I have to explain that I really didn’t want to be born in New York but my mother was there and I felt it would be appropriate to be near her during the time of childbirth… And I want to make it absolutely clear that I root for the Red Sox…
Well, personally I have a checkered past. I had no idea I was going to do this [hospital administration.] My background is in the energy field and telecommunications. I used to regulate the utilities in Massachusetts, then the state energy department in Little Rock, Arkansas, and then I ended up running the water and sewer system in the greater Boston area. I guess running a sewer system is good training for running a hospital…
There had been a merger of Beth Israel and Deaconess in the mid 1990s. The merger failed and the place was about to go out of business. I thought it was worth saving, so I persuaded them to hire me. It’s not the usual path. I hope that not too many other hospitals that are failing would want to hire the guy who runs the sewer system.”
So there you have it, folks. Sometimes the best CEOs may be found in unusual places… Kudos to Paul Levy for spearheading a major hospital turn around, and kudos to the Harvard system for recognizing leadership excellence in an unexpected corner of the world. Listen to the podcast to find out more about this fascinating story.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
March 25th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in True Stories
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Just when you think you’ve seen it all… I read a charming discussion between two ladies in my online weight loss group. They were both understandably frustrated with the daily struggle to increase their activity levels, and were looking for some accountability and motivation. Apparently one has begun using a weighted exercise hoop for cardiovascular fitness, and offered to help the other to get back in the exercise groove.
That’s right, hula hoop your way to a thinner you! I’d never have guessed that I’d be saying this, but if the humble hula hoop is your exercise of choice, then by all means, use it to lose weight. I might just get one myself!
Anyone care to join us?This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
March 16th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Humor, Medblogger Shout Outs
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My friend Mindy Roberts is a mommy blogger extraordinaire. In fact she was one of the very first in this genre – and is author of themommyblog.com.
I’ve shamelessly stolen excerpts from her book “Mommy Confidential: Adventures form the Wonderbelly of Motherhood” for my blog readers. And now, she has created an entire website for kiddie quotes. If your kids or grandkids have said something funny, please share it with the world at PearSoup. Or if you’d just like to return to your own wonder years… take a look at what kids are saying these days. Here are some quotes that I liked a lot:
“Mommy, are you sure you remember how to make a baby?”
— Terrel, 4
“If I plant this eggplant will it grow eggs for us?”
— Spencer, 4
“Whew, that sure was undignified!”
— Ryan, 3
(After running away from the vacuum cleaner)
This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
