Hey dude. Was a medic. Twelve years. Now I'm a doc. I used to think like you. Paragod. King of the small world of EMS. Now I realize that I didn't know ****. That all I could do was regurgitate algorhythms. Find it funny that three docs couldn't tube the code that YOU brought in, which means that you couldn't do it either. Go you. Now, as a doc, I realize - every, damn, day, that I still don't know ****. The only difference between you and me, is that you still don't get this.
What Would Aliens Think Of Us?
The further I get along in Medicine, not only do I realize the less I know, the more I realize the less
anyone knows. If you look at medical standards over time, we're really a laughable bunch (but no less than anyone else).
Trauma: "Slam the fluids in!"
Became, "Don't slam the fluids in!" (Oops, that kills people.)
Estrogen replacement isn't needed.
Estrogen replacement is needed.
Estrogen replacement causes cancer.
(Just in recent news, insert testosterone, for all of the above).
Lowering cholesterol prevents heart disease.
Lowering cholesterol doesn't prevent heart disease (but not before Lipitor ranked as the countries #1 drug for years.)
Tonsils need to be removed.
Tonsils don't need to be removed.
All bleeding spleens need to be removed.
Not all bleeding spleens need to be removed.
Opiates are bad.
Opiates are good.
Opiates are bad (again).
Lower BP in (acute) stroke.
Don't lower BP in stroke, became,
Lower BP in stroke (just not too much.)
Everyone needs a PSA checked.
Everyone doesn't need a PSA checked.
All women over 40 need a mammogram.
Not all women over 40 need a mammogram.
Steroids are good for brain injury became,
Steroids are bad for brain injury.
Steroids are good for spinal cord injury will become,
Steroids are ______ for spinal cord injury?
In the 80's sugar was bad, complex carbs were good.
Then carbs didn't matter, cholesterol was bad.
Then cholesterol wasn't so bad, fat was.
Then fat wasn't bad, only "bad" fat was bad (saturated) and "good" fat was good (unsaturated).
Then that reversed (then reversed back).
Then all carbs were bad, protein and fat became good.
Then a natural diet, raw foods like cavemen at is good, and sugar is the evil.
Wait, isn't that where we started?
When you really step back and look at the big picture we're no better than a heard of disorganized cats swaying back and forth trying to determine who, why, and which patients to blood let and apply leeches to, how much and for how long.
Moral of the story: practicing really bad Medicine, that's really bad for patients can make one look very smart, can be the expected standard, and doing the opposite can even be punishable (by medical boards, malpractice courts or criminal courts in the case of opiates). Just make sure you do it in the
correct decade, along with the herd!
I hope aliens don't exist and never come to planet Earth because likely, they'll analyze us and call it as they see it, and say (insert alien accent):
"What we have here, is just another planet full of 7 billion idiots. Let's go home."
So the next time the paragod of the day stands up and tries to convince you he's smarter than the rest, stop to wonder if his or her great proclamation of the day may be the heresy of tomorrow.
Will second doing them online, no need to sit through a course.
