Grey's: Conjoined Twins, Saucy Interns
Last night Grey's Anatomy delved into the very interesting and intriguing lives of conjoined twins -- sometimes called Siamese twins after a set of conjoined twins born in the 1800s in Siam (today called Thailand).
Conjoined twins are very rare -- occurring in 1 in every 200,000 live births. It occurs more often than this but many of these twins are stillborn. And many of the live births die soon after birth. That's why coming across a set of conjoined twins is so rare.
But believe me, that wasn't the rarest thing I witnessed on Grey's. We'll get to that in a minute but let's just say I can't believe they said that.
First, a little more about conjoined twins -- another example of the wonders of the human body.
Conjoined twins are always identical because they form from one egg and one sperm. Under normal circumstances the fertilized egg splits within the first 2 weeks after conception -- leading to two genetically-identical but separate babies.
But with conjoined twins the splitting process happens too late causing incomplete separation of the two babies. By the way, there are no reported cases of conjoined triplets or quadruplets that I'm aware of.
I've read many reports of conjoined twins that are perfectly happy living side by side -- as hard as that may be for the rest of us to understand. But I guess it's all what we're used to and I have no doubt that conjoined twins have a connection (I'm not being funny here) that none of us can understand.
The risks of surgery to separate them is full of danger -- exactly the reason one of Grey's twins was so reluctant to have the surgery. Well, that and the fact that he was quite fond of his brother's fiancee and staying connected gave him easy access. During a sexual experience between one twin and his fiancee, the other twin copped a feel (and the fiancee didn't protest, so you can imagine how ugly it got).
It was actually quite a sweet story, albeit a bit out there, but that's what makes it fun.
Now onto the really rare events on Grey's.
Half the time when the interns talk to Dr. Bailey -- the chief resident -- they're smart-mouthing her. And the other half of the time they're off doing their own thing (another rarity we'll get into another time).
And Dr. Bailey isn't always the best at showing respect either.
For example, Dr. Bailey mouthed off to the chief of surgery (someone you would never even consider getting smart with) during the surgery to separate the conjoined twins.
She said, "Dr. Yang messed up and she's in the OR right now." Seems innocent enough to someone who doesn't truly understand the dynamics between residents and attendings. But the chief of surgery is as close to God as you get in the OR and it just doesn't happen that way (no matter what the resident is thinking).
But I can assure you all that discourse is far from the truth.
An intern is the low doc on the totem pole (often considered lower than low by many residents). It's just part of the process and we all go through it.
You do what you're told and you give your full respect to your residents and attendings (or at least act like you are).
Being an intern is all about paying your dues and one day you get to abuse your own interns (much like Dr. Bailey often does). Interns give their respect, so that they can earn others respect later on. And you get great memories from this experience.
Dr. Brunilda Nazario, WebMD's senior medical editor, remembers her internship this way:
Dr. Louise Chang, WebMD's medical editor, remembers her internship as a time of respect and admiration.
The dialogue between Grey's interns, residents, and attendings make for a great script, but believe me, we wouldn't dare go there as an intern. And then there's the sex -- we won't go there right now.
Related Topics: 7 Key Traits of An Ideal Doctor
Technorati Tags: Grey's Anatomy, conjoined twins, Siamese twins, interns
Conjoined twins are very rare -- occurring in 1 in every 200,000 live births. It occurs more often than this but many of these twins are stillborn. And many of the live births die soon after birth. That's why coming across a set of conjoined twins is so rare.
But believe me, that wasn't the rarest thing I witnessed on Grey's. We'll get to that in a minute but let's just say I can't believe they said that.
First, a little more about conjoined twins -- another example of the wonders of the human body.
Conjoined twins are always identical because they form from one egg and one sperm. Under normal circumstances the fertilized egg splits within the first 2 weeks after conception -- leading to two genetically-identical but separate babies.
But with conjoined twins the splitting process happens too late causing incomplete separation of the two babies. By the way, there are no reported cases of conjoined triplets or quadruplets that I'm aware of.
I've read many reports of conjoined twins that are perfectly happy living side by side -- as hard as that may be for the rest of us to understand. But I guess it's all what we're used to and I have no doubt that conjoined twins have a connection (I'm not being funny here) that none of us can understand.
The risks of surgery to separate them is full of danger -- exactly the reason one of Grey's twins was so reluctant to have the surgery. Well, that and the fact that he was quite fond of his brother's fiancee and staying connected gave him easy access. During a sexual experience between one twin and his fiancee, the other twin copped a feel (and the fiancee didn't protest, so you can imagine how ugly it got).
It was actually quite a sweet story, albeit a bit out there, but that's what makes it fun.
Now onto the really rare events on Grey's.
Half the time when the interns talk to Dr. Bailey -- the chief resident -- they're smart-mouthing her. And the other half of the time they're off doing their own thing (another rarity we'll get into another time).
And Dr. Bailey isn't always the best at showing respect either.
For example, Dr. Bailey mouthed off to the chief of surgery (someone you would never even consider getting smart with) during the surgery to separate the conjoined twins.
She said, "Dr. Yang messed up and she's in the OR right now." Seems innocent enough to someone who doesn't truly understand the dynamics between residents and attendings. But the chief of surgery is as close to God as you get in the OR and it just doesn't happen that way (no matter what the resident is thinking).
But I can assure you all that discourse is far from the truth.
An intern is the low doc on the totem pole (often considered lower than low by many residents). It's just part of the process and we all go through it.
You do what you're told and you give your full respect to your residents and attendings (or at least act like you are).
Being an intern is all about paying your dues and one day you get to abuse your own interns (much like Dr. Bailey often does). Interns give their respect, so that they can earn others respect later on. And you get great memories from this experience.
Dr. Brunilda Nazario, WebMD's senior medical editor, remembers her internship this way:
"Being an intern was often brutal. Interns are often put on the spot with difficult questions -- we called it "pimping." And the interns were responsible for presenting a case much like Grey's interns often do. Then the residents and attendings would pummel you with questions -- the intern was like a sitting duck."
"There was a level of disrespect from interns, but it was all in fun. As a chief resident, my interns would sing "She drives me crazy" on rounds. It was a very popular song at the time."
Dr. Louise Chang, WebMD's medical editor, remembers her internship as a time of respect and admiration.
"An intern's quality of life is often dependent on the senior resident and attending that he/she is working with. Interns and residents speak to attendings with respect and professionalism. Attendings have tremendous responsibility, not only in charge of supervising their work but also teaching them and ultimately being responsible for any mistakes that the interns or residents make. This is huge, and an intern's deference is the norm."
The dialogue between Grey's interns, residents, and attendings make for a great script, but believe me, we wouldn't dare go there as an intern. And then there's the sex -- we won't go there right now.
Related Topics: 7 Key Traits of An Ideal Doctor
Technorati Tags: Grey's Anatomy, conjoined twins, Siamese twins, interns
3 Comments:
But we want to hear about the sex!
I am certainly happy to see that you have addressed the ridiculously unrealistic dialogue that seems to be standard fare on these "medical" shows. I can't imagine in any institution of medical matriculation that such disrespectful banterings would ever occur. But as one commenter has already responded, the general public is obviously not interested in a more honest portrayal of one's training years.
Make no mistake, I'm not suggesting that the T.V. viewing masses are incapable of enjoying some of the more true-to-life, less salacious experiences our young doctors-in-training manage to survive. But while my personal medical training involved time spent on both coasts in prestigious (and some not-so-prestigious) institutions,I concede there is indeed a good bit of difference from school to school and coast to coast. However, I know of no circumstance where mouthy young docs such as these would not be tossed out on their collective...ears or some other more appropriate part of their 'Grey's Anatomy'.
So..Grey's is a pretty hot show, it's fun to see everybody mouthing off and getting in trouble, and still saving lives. That's the magic of tv. I think if you have a problem with it, like these up tight doctors, then dont watch it!haha
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