Most cities have a list of the best doctors...or lawyers, or dentists, or architects, etc. Instead I suggest that we publish the worst doctors.
First, I have to admit that I haven't been the best at anything that I have done. I also know that even if I am good at what I do there will always be somebody, somewhere, better at it than me, even if I was considered the best in my confined area. This the law of the West, where there is always a better gun, and the rest of the world. So I have become resigned to being a strong person at what I do but not the best. But the best also seems rather hard to define in such a deep and complicated field as medicine...or law, or architecture, or any adult profession except professional sports where winning is the definition of success.
Look at it this way, the best doctors have become that way because they have been in practice long enough to establish a reputation with patients and other medical professionals. But this means that they have already been receiving a number of referrals that have left patients and referring physicians impressed with their work. And they are probably quite good at what they do, so this means there are already a number of patients clamoring for their services and you could wait until your dead until you see them, or be referred to one of their partners, which kind of defeats the purpose of the list. I tried to get into a gastroenterologist (age 50=colonoscopy) that was one of Seattle's best and was told that I couldn't see him for about six months. By then I could have cancer and be dead, or at least vomiting blood, or having other messy problems, that would leave me unsatisfied. If I wanted this I could try to find a doctor in Canada or, God forbid, in England (sarcasm marker here).
Instead why not list the worst doctors in the community. At least this would allow one to know who not to see, and it would allow the unknowing to get an appointment in a reasonable time frame with a perfectly fine doctor. Maybe they wouldn't be the best but they wouldn't be the worst either. If you believe in lists, somewhere tomorrow, a patient will be walking into the office of the worst physician in the nation (thanks John Robinson). I would rather avoid this than wait 6 months to see the best.
This is meant to be tongue in cheek since I think the legal ramifications for any publication to take this on would be huge, but it also isn't without merit because doctors and nurse, those usually polled for these Best Of... lists, also know who not to see. Perhaps when a friend or family member asks who to see in the community we, as doctors and nurses, should tell them who not to see instead.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Hole and Weezer: The Bands
Before getting to the day's events I'll convey some Woody Allen lines: 1) Intellectuals have proven you can be absolutely brilliant and still have no idea what's going on, and 2) A patient says to his doctor, "Doc, I think my brother is crazy, he thinks he's a chicken." The doc says, "Well why don't you turn him in?" The patient says, "I would but I need the eggs." Somewhere in Woody Allen there is philosophy.
I spent the weekend watching monitors in the electronic ICU of Swedish Hospital in Seattle. This is my transition job while I ease myself back into the clinical world. I managed a patient over a visual monitor and loudspeaker for an hour last night, he eventually died. It is a bit surreal to watch someone die on television, for real, especially when it's a consequence of unsuccessful interventions from you, sitting watching a monitor of the patient, writing orders into a computer and interacting with nurses who can only hear my voice from the ceiling.
I got home this morning and watched the Sunday morning news shows to defervesce. Christiane Amanpour interviewed Tony Blair on ABC's This Week. They were both witty, intelligent and likable. He commented that he still gets butterflies on Wednesdays, a day when, during his time as PM of England, he had to stand and deliver on Prime Minister's questions at Parliament. Although I can understand I had not realized that it was such a nerve racking thing for him. On the PBS broadcasts of the events he seemed so poised and in control, even enjoying it.
I got some sleep in the afternoon and went to Bumbershoot, a music festival in Seattle held every Labor Day weekend in the evening. This is what I want to talk about most since I got to see Hole and Weezer in concert this evening. I have not been to a rock concert for years and have to admit it was not like rock concerts I remember as a kid. My most memorable concert was the Rolling Stones concert I went to in high school with my friend Pat Gleason. We snuck into the concert by holding cutout cardboard tickets that we held in line until we got to the ticket takers. When they looked down to take our fake tickets we bolted into the St. Paul Civic Center, I ran into someone carrying beers and splashed them in my wake while running onto the concert floor. A hooligan without a violent streak maybe, but it was worth it since the concert was sold out. And everything seemed so crazy then anyway. The Stones were about an hour or two late to come on stage. The whole place was blue with pot smoke and my friend Larry Olson, who paid top dollar for his tickets, passed out under the seats right as Mick Jagger came onto the stage. He didn't wake up for the whole concert. After, the crowd toppled some police cars and St. Paul banned rock concerts for a few years. That's the kind of concerts I remember.
Bumbershoot is an annual celebration in Seattle held over Labor Day weekend. It brings an array of bands, from big names to local acts, and has food stands and face painting, etcetera. The main stage tonight had Courtney Love and Hole as well as Weezer. They were both cool in different ways. Although Courtney Love is a psychological marsh, by reputation, she makes good music. Wikepedia reports that she was raised in communes in Oregon, that her father gave her LSD when she was 3 years old and that she will be an heir to the Bausch and Lomb eye care fortune when her mother dies. She was the wife of Kurt Cobain and was sued by the remaining members of Nirvana. She also reformed Hole without the contractually necessary consent of co-founder Eric Erlandson, they officially disbanded in 2002, which suggests there will be more business fun to come in her life. Apparently in Spin magazine Eric Erlandson said something to the effect of, "She can't do that".
I got to the stage early so was able to get up close. This didn't matter for Holes' performance since not many people showed for that but it did make for a "mosh" when Weezer came on. Courtney Love didn't seem frankly psycho during Holes' performance but she did have her moments. She wore a dress and repeatedly put her foot up on a speaker monitor leaving her crotch exposed during the show. I am happy to report that she did wear underwear. She smoked during the performance and at one point stopped a song and asked for a cigarette from one of the stage hands. She also commented alluded to Kurt Cobain's death, he shot himself, by saying, "1-7-1 Lake Washington Boulevard...Wow!" This was the address where he was found dead, kinda without a head. That same day in April 1994 was my first day, visiting from New York, in the Seattle area and I remember hearing a DJ on 107/The End breaking the story.
After Courtney L. stopped gazing at the Space Needle looming over the stage like a nun behind a misbehaving school kid she left the stage without much affair. Seattle, a place she referred to as home as in "Hello Home...", doesn't seem to like her very much. I think it's because she smokes, or because she screwed (legally) the remaining members of Nirvana, or just because she didn't have a tight set tonight, who knows. I think Europe likes her.
Then the All American boys came on. Weezer has some good singles but I never knew that they were such a cult band. The stage area filled in hugely before they came on and the crowd started to move and undulate even before they came on. It was all good natured and because I was so close and so tall I started to get some jabs from kids behind me. But even that was all good since it wasn't mean stuff. The Weezer fans were of a younger generation than mine but they were cool.
The lead singer/songwriter is named Rivers Cuomo and he was "on" tonight. He looks like a cross between Woody Allen and Elvis Costello with a yamika balding spot and black framed glasses. He wore a pink Polo shirt under a stripped rugby sweater with jeans and white tennis shoes. He walked like a duck but acted like Mick Jagger. And he was all over the arena! He climbed the scaffolding of the set and with wireless technology sang from different areas of the arena with a spotlight picking him up wherever he went. The rest of the band was muscular and tight and very cool. It was invigorating to see and hear.
During a couple of the hits, "People say, Rivers, why don't you sing the hits? Rivers why not sing the hits?..." Well he did, and the crowd was crazy. The spectacular part of it was being so close to the stage and seeing the undulating arms like cilia waving and moving kids that were thrown up and moved on the wave of hands to the front of the crowd. I guess since I looked strong enough I had a kid tap me on the shoulder to ask if I would throw him up. I cupped my hands, he put a foot in and I hoisted him up onto the hands and away he went. It was very cool to have a ground level view of this. He just got carried away on the undulating hands, laughing with his limbs moving all akimbo. Since the first try was successful another asked me to do it, then another. The last kid was an Asian girl with braces all of about 15. She asked, "Can you do that to me?" and I have her face burned into memory since she seemed so sweet and so ready for the ride, like an excited kid at the fair ready to get on the roller coaster. She was the last one I hoisted onto the swaying arms and as she drifted away on her back, on the hands, she giggled intensely until she was gone. What a vision. All the while Weezer was cranking the music and the crowd was swaying and the kids on top were giggling and full of fun. I walked out of the concert a new man for awhile since I hadn't had so much fun for a long time.
Music can be intoxicating and Weezer was an intoxicating band. Bumbershoot was a success with me and Seattle gets credit in my mind for sponsoring such a good event. Good on ya Seattle.
I spent the weekend watching monitors in the electronic ICU of Swedish Hospital in Seattle. This is my transition job while I ease myself back into the clinical world. I managed a patient over a visual monitor and loudspeaker for an hour last night, he eventually died. It is a bit surreal to watch someone die on television, for real, especially when it's a consequence of unsuccessful interventions from you, sitting watching a monitor of the patient, writing orders into a computer and interacting with nurses who can only hear my voice from the ceiling.
I got home this morning and watched the Sunday morning news shows to defervesce. Christiane Amanpour interviewed Tony Blair on ABC's This Week. They were both witty, intelligent and likable. He commented that he still gets butterflies on Wednesdays, a day when, during his time as PM of England, he had to stand and deliver on Prime Minister's questions at Parliament. Although I can understand I had not realized that it was such a nerve racking thing for him. On the PBS broadcasts of the events he seemed so poised and in control, even enjoying it.
I got some sleep in the afternoon and went to Bumbershoot, a music festival in Seattle held every Labor Day weekend in the evening. This is what I want to talk about most since I got to see Hole and Weezer in concert this evening. I have not been to a rock concert for years and have to admit it was not like rock concerts I remember as a kid. My most memorable concert was the Rolling Stones concert I went to in high school with my friend Pat Gleason. We snuck into the concert by holding cutout cardboard tickets that we held in line until we got to the ticket takers. When they looked down to take our fake tickets we bolted into the St. Paul Civic Center, I ran into someone carrying beers and splashed them in my wake while running onto the concert floor. A hooligan without a violent streak maybe, but it was worth it since the concert was sold out. And everything seemed so crazy then anyway. The Stones were about an hour or two late to come on stage. The whole place was blue with pot smoke and my friend Larry Olson, who paid top dollar for his tickets, passed out under the seats right as Mick Jagger came onto the stage. He didn't wake up for the whole concert. After, the crowd toppled some police cars and St. Paul banned rock concerts for a few years. That's the kind of concerts I remember.
Bumbershoot is an annual celebration in Seattle held over Labor Day weekend. It brings an array of bands, from big names to local acts, and has food stands and face painting, etcetera. The main stage tonight had Courtney Love and Hole as well as Weezer. They were both cool in different ways. Although Courtney Love is a psychological marsh, by reputation, she makes good music. Wikepedia reports that she was raised in communes in Oregon, that her father gave her LSD when she was 3 years old and that she will be an heir to the Bausch and Lomb eye care fortune when her mother dies. She was the wife of Kurt Cobain and was sued by the remaining members of Nirvana. She also reformed Hole without the contractually necessary consent of co-founder Eric Erlandson, they officially disbanded in 2002, which suggests there will be more business fun to come in her life. Apparently in Spin magazine Eric Erlandson said something to the effect of, "She can't do that".
I got to the stage early so was able to get up close. This didn't matter for Holes' performance since not many people showed for that but it did make for a "mosh" when Weezer came on. Courtney Love didn't seem frankly psycho during Holes' performance but she did have her moments. She wore a dress and repeatedly put her foot up on a speaker monitor leaving her crotch exposed during the show. I am happy to report that she did wear underwear. She smoked during the performance and at one point stopped a song and asked for a cigarette from one of the stage hands. She also commented alluded to Kurt Cobain's death, he shot himself, by saying, "1-7-1 Lake Washington Boulevard...Wow!" This was the address where he was found dead, kinda without a head. That same day in April 1994 was my first day, visiting from New York, in the Seattle area and I remember hearing a DJ on 107/The End breaking the story.
After Courtney L. stopped gazing at the Space Needle looming over the stage like a nun behind a misbehaving school kid she left the stage without much affair. Seattle, a place she referred to as home as in "Hello Home...", doesn't seem to like her very much. I think it's because she smokes, or because she screwed (legally) the remaining members of Nirvana, or just because she didn't have a tight set tonight, who knows. I think Europe likes her.
Then the All American boys came on. Weezer has some good singles but I never knew that they were such a cult band. The stage area filled in hugely before they came on and the crowd started to move and undulate even before they came on. It was all good natured and because I was so close and so tall I started to get some jabs from kids behind me. But even that was all good since it wasn't mean stuff. The Weezer fans were of a younger generation than mine but they were cool.
The lead singer/songwriter is named Rivers Cuomo and he was "on" tonight. He looks like a cross between Woody Allen and Elvis Costello with a yamika balding spot and black framed glasses. He wore a pink Polo shirt under a stripped rugby sweater with jeans and white tennis shoes. He walked like a duck but acted like Mick Jagger. And he was all over the arena! He climbed the scaffolding of the set and with wireless technology sang from different areas of the arena with a spotlight picking him up wherever he went. The rest of the band was muscular and tight and very cool. It was invigorating to see and hear.
During a couple of the hits, "People say, Rivers, why don't you sing the hits? Rivers why not sing the hits?..." Well he did, and the crowd was crazy. The spectacular part of it was being so close to the stage and seeing the undulating arms like cilia waving and moving kids that were thrown up and moved on the wave of hands to the front of the crowd. I guess since I looked strong enough I had a kid tap me on the shoulder to ask if I would throw him up. I cupped my hands, he put a foot in and I hoisted him up onto the hands and away he went. It was very cool to have a ground level view of this. He just got carried away on the undulating hands, laughing with his limbs moving all akimbo. Since the first try was successful another asked me to do it, then another. The last kid was an Asian girl with braces all of about 15. She asked, "Can you do that to me?" and I have her face burned into memory since she seemed so sweet and so ready for the ride, like an excited kid at the fair ready to get on the roller coaster. She was the last one I hoisted onto the swaying arms and as she drifted away on her back, on the hands, she giggled intensely until she was gone. What a vision. All the while Weezer was cranking the music and the crowd was swaying and the kids on top were giggling and full of fun. I walked out of the concert a new man for awhile since I hadn't had so much fun for a long time.
Music can be intoxicating and Weezer was an intoxicating band. Bumbershoot was a success with me and Seattle gets credit in my mind for sponsoring such a good event. Good on ya Seattle.
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