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Grey's: Monkey See, Monkey Do
Well, doctors aren't exactly monkeys - at least most of us - but when we're in training we do function that way to some degree.
The actual mantra we follow in learning new procedures and techniques is "See one, do one, teach one." That's exactly what happened in last night's Grey's Anatomy when the intern did an intubation (putting a breathing tube in a patient). We watch another doctor do it, we do it ourselves, and then we're ready to teach it. A bit simplified, but that's basically how it works.
When the intern, Meredith's sister, went to intubate the man that was rushed into the ER, she was obviously extremely nervous. I can definitely relate. I remember the first time I had to stick a large needle in a patient's back to do a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). All kinds of things run through your mind. What if I hit the spinal cord and paralyze him?
Why do you think they always say don't go to the hospital on July 1? That's when all the new interns are eager to start sticking. It's really not as scary as it sounds.
Even though it sounds pretty primitive, it's done under direct supervision. It's not like we're all going crazy sticking needles in anyone we can find. It's the way training has been done for years and has obviously worked pretty well so far.
It was a good idea to let the intern "practice" on a man that was basically dead. Of course, that freaked Meredith's sister out a bit but that was probably based more on her emotions around her mother's death and whether Meredith did everything she could to save her.
But when McSteamy and the Chief decided they were going to try out some new tongue cancer surgical procedure to help save a woman's tongue, that was a bit much. Very commendable that they wanted to save the very chatty woman's tongue, but get someone that knows what they're doing for God's sake!
Not only was there no one there that had done the procedure before, they had not even seen one done. McDreamy was right to go off on them!
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was much more to last night's plot than who's sleeping with whom. They certainly didn't abandon those story lines completely, but at least it wasn't about doctors sleeping with anybody and everybody but "Really Old Guy."
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: Greys Anatomy, TV, McDreamy, McSteamy, medical training
The actual mantra we follow in learning new procedures and techniques is "See one, do one, teach one." That's exactly what happened in last night's Grey's Anatomy when the intern did an intubation (putting a breathing tube in a patient). We watch another doctor do it, we do it ourselves, and then we're ready to teach it. A bit simplified, but that's basically how it works.
When the intern, Meredith's sister, went to intubate the man that was rushed into the ER, she was obviously extremely nervous. I can definitely relate. I remember the first time I had to stick a large needle in a patient's back to do a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). All kinds of things run through your mind. What if I hit the spinal cord and paralyze him?
Why do you think they always say don't go to the hospital on July 1? That's when all the new interns are eager to start sticking. It's really not as scary as it sounds.
Even though it sounds pretty primitive, it's done under direct supervision. It's not like we're all going crazy sticking needles in anyone we can find. It's the way training has been done for years and has obviously worked pretty well so far.
It was a good idea to let the intern "practice" on a man that was basically dead. Of course, that freaked Meredith's sister out a bit but that was probably based more on her emotions around her mother's death and whether Meredith did everything she could to save her.
But when McSteamy and the Chief decided they were going to try out some new tongue cancer surgical procedure to help save a woman's tongue, that was a bit much. Very commendable that they wanted to save the very chatty woman's tongue, but get someone that knows what they're doing for God's sake!
Not only was there no one there that had done the procedure before, they had not even seen one done. McDreamy was right to go off on them!
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was much more to last night's plot than who's sleeping with whom. They certainly didn't abandon those story lines completely, but at least it wasn't about doctors sleeping with anybody and everybody but "Really Old Guy."
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: Greys Anatomy, TV, McDreamy, McSteamy, medical training
Labels: grey's anatomy
