The Standardized Patient

So it seems like everyone and their brother always asks me about what medical school is like when they find out that's what I'm doing. And I'm always happy to share. But here's an article I found with the opposite point of view...what it's like being the first patient for a group of med students (scary!). Here's an idea:

There are some obvious things you hope no doctor ever says to you, but on this assignment, I discovered there are a few others:

"I have to admit I have some butterflies."
"I've never felt anyone's liver."
"I'm so sorry! Are you all right?"

It's a funny and actually (maybe scarily) a pretty accurate article. Looking back, I can see a little bit of myself when I started out with patients in some of the students the article talks about...hopefully, my comfort and skills have improved at least a little bit (for example, I have not said "Oops!" while doing a pelvic exam since my first!).

On a related note, most likely everyone that knows me has already heard me talk about this book, but if you like this article, then you should definitely check out Stiff: The Curious Lives Of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach, probably my favorite book of all time. In fact, I had to look and see if Mary Roach had written the article as well. She hadn't, but very well could have. If you want to borrow Stiff, let me know...I actually have 2 copies. :) But, just to warn you, once you read it, you'll probably want to have a copy (or 2) to own forever and ever. Anyway, enjoy!

Dustin