Clinically Immersed, need help!

How the days fly! As I get immersed into the Clinical Immersion at Stanford Hospital, my mind is buzzing with an overload of thoughts. I seem to be taking every observation as an area on intervention and thinking of solutions already. I need to hold back and spend more time analyzing...also need to spend more time discussing and building on thoughts (and not ideas!).

For most reading it, this might sounds like utter gibberish, but this is my mind talking, just random stuff. But this has been my life for the past one month. I am not a doctor (and can possibly never be one), but have been spending a lot of time at the Stanford hospital, meeting doctors, observing (never participating :)) procedures and running around trying find to eat lunches!

Jon and me in scrubs last week :)

I am also getting to fulfill the childhood fantasy of living like a doctor, at least dressing like one :) Based on where we would be spending our day, we wear formals with white lab coats (for in-patient or out-patient rounds) or surgeon's scrubs (for procedures). This picture is in fact taken inside the Biodesign lab, and my partner here is Jonathon. For now, we are together for these rounds, will swap partner with the other team later.

The post seems disjointed, and makes no sense even to me. It would get clearer as time goes by, I just needed to take this one out. I am sure more fluid thoughts shall follow.

Also on my mind is the Indian dinner treat from Siraj at Sakoon (downtown, Mountain view), morning walking, fooding and photography session at the Farmer's market (California Avenue, Palo Alto), the missed trip to the Science Museum today morning and the fabulous pastries and quiche waiting for consumption right in front of me.

Staphylococcus aureus/ MSSA/ Golden Cluster Seed

Beauty was the last thing I expected as I got the report from my surgeon. However, as I googled, the beautiful world of Staphylococcus aureus (literally golden cluster seed) opened up to me. Its known and famous for its golden color, something which can also be seen in its colonies.

These beautiful organisms can cause a range of diseases, from a minor skin pimple to life threatening sepsis.

Originally curable by scores of antibodies, now Staph (as it is commonly known) has become resistant to many. Also, originally very rare, its now endemic in most hospitals across the globe.

Somehow now I do not feel so bad to be its carrier; I found another colleague in office and perhaps together we can form SSG aka Staph Support Group!

Have a look at this beauty in the images below.

Ref: www.sciencephoto.com

Ref: www.healthhype.com

Ref: www.sciencephoto.com

Ref: www.sciencephoto.com

Ref: www.wikipedia.com

Ref: Wikipedia, www.acronyms.thefreedictionary.com

pain/ physical/ emotional/ fear/ something else

A hospital once again. I am at least a couple of hours before time and have little to do kill time, but observe people and their curios habits. And often intrude their private spaces in an environment where privacy is almost a no-word and public is the apparent private.

A middle aged South Indian couple, woman being the patient, fill in the space in front of me,. Conversations struggle between them as they attempt to eat dosa with sambhar/ chutney. Two women on my either side - one constantly peeling fruits while the other one deeply engrossed into an old issue of Readers' Digest (reading an article on '13 ways to lose weight').

The space

Conversations here are few and far in-between, but the place has a constant chatter intermixed with the traffic noise outside. I wonder if hospitals should at all be like this, even those meant for the poor. But the place is homely in its own way, an extremely silent place for treatment may be too condescending for some of the people here. Certainly, noise can't be comfortable for the patient.

With even more free time in hand, I wonder if hospitals have any color, I can see almost all colors but the tone is overwhelmingly neutral. Even the South Indian aunty eating dosa looks muted in her red-yellow-golden ensemble. 'Too fast to live, Too young to die', reads one of the black T-shirt running around. T-shirts are uncommon though, pant-shirt win over the jeans-tees outside.

Dosa finally over, the aunty lies down on uncle's lap and starts crying (pain/ physical/ emotional/ fear/ something else), while uncle plays with her cheeks, the way do with toddlers; curiously this puts her to sleep soon. I look at them and wonder if they are in love. How many of us actually grow old with the one we love? All relationships I see around are broken, most are simple compromises while a few lucky ones survive with mutual affection.

Its time now to stop taking notes, my young partner for today's investigations is walking towards me with a bright smile. Smiles will have to wait, hospital waits for us.