Bedside Manner Where Art Thou?
Hope everyone had a good easter! Mine was great! If I was back home, I would have had the pleasant opportunity of having friday and monday off but oh well. Speaking of which, why do people celebrate Easter Monday again?
So what did I do for easter? A family at church was nice enough to invite us poor no-family-nearby "students" to Easter dinner at their home. So there I was trying to be social and mingle with the other guests before the formal dinner began when the following took place:
Man: So what do you do?
Me: I do research at the Med School
Man: Oh nice, what are you researching?
This is always a hard question when you don't know what background your audience has. There's a thin line between try to speak in layman's terms and talking down to someone.
Me: It's loosely related to Disease XYZ
Man:(Stares on like he's waiting for further explanation)
OK...he must be some kind of scientist. Our host was one so it would not be too far-fetched to assume some of his guests will be too. I proceed to explain further in moderate details. Sensing I was beginning to lose him, I can back up to the surface and rounded up.
Man: (Nods) So why don't you study "Disease (Insert completely unrelated and obscure autoimmune syndrome here)"
Me: (Mentally flipping through my Med Terminology IOI textbook and trying to split up the syndrome's name into logical parts-complete with very confused look sweeping across my face)
Man: (Laughing) just kidding
Me: Well you got me
By the way, before this day, I had tried to brush up on the little science I knew seeing as our host was a seemingly big shot cancer scientist for a definately big shot pharma company. Yes...I know it's just an Easter dinner but it is also one of the many opportunities to make a full of yourself over a dinner table of 20 or so people...yeah on occasion, I'm more Type A than I like to admit
Me: So where did you pull that name out of?
Man: Well my wife has the syndrome
Ok time-out. Man just pretty much revealed to you that his wife has some syndrome that you have not had the opportunity to Wikipedia yet. Wife is present at party so you know whatever it is, the syndrome is probably not debilitating enough to confine her to bed. She looks very normal etc. So what would be the best response to man's statement?
Aristotle:(The-Must-think-very-deeply squad) Hmm that's a pity have you considered how this may relate to the alignment of certain astronomical bodies?
Hippocrates: (The-Must-do-no-harm squad) I'm really sorry to hear that, how hard is it to manage?
Me: (The-Must-perpetually-and-stupidly-think-every-disease-is-cool squad) Hmmmm Interesting.
As the words left my mouth, the extent of their stupidity and cold heartedness struck me. This was not immunology class where every pathway was something to drool over, this was a human being...you know...the soul behind the pathway and the first words that come out of your mouth is that?! Needless to say the conversation ended a tad bit awkwardly and my attempts to dig myself out of the ten foot hole I dug seemed essentially futile.
I proceeded to kick myself for the rest of dinner.
So what did I do for easter? A family at church was nice enough to invite us poor no-family-nearby "students" to Easter dinner at their home. So there I was trying to be social and mingle with the other guests before the formal dinner began when the following took place:
Man: So what do you do?
Me: I do research at the Med School
Man: Oh nice, what are you researching?
This is always a hard question when you don't know what background your audience has. There's a thin line between try to speak in layman's terms and talking down to someone.
Me: It's loosely related to Disease XYZ
Man:(Stares on like he's waiting for further explanation)
OK...he must be some kind of scientist. Our host was one so it would not be too far-fetched to assume some of his guests will be too. I proceed to explain further in moderate details. Sensing I was beginning to lose him, I can back up to the surface and rounded up.
Man: (Nods) So why don't you study "Disease (Insert completely unrelated and obscure autoimmune syndrome here)"
Me: (Mentally flipping through my Med Terminology IOI textbook and trying to split up the syndrome's name into logical parts-complete with very confused look sweeping across my face)
Man: (Laughing) just kidding
Me: Well you got me
By the way, before this day, I had tried to brush up on the little science I knew seeing as our host was a seemingly big shot cancer scientist for a definately big shot pharma company. Yes...I know it's just an Easter dinner but it is also one of the many opportunities to make a full of yourself over a dinner table of 20 or so people...yeah on occasion, I'm more Type A than I like to admit
Me: So where did you pull that name out of?
Man: Well my wife has the syndrome
Ok time-out. Man just pretty much revealed to you that his wife has some syndrome that you have not had the opportunity to Wikipedia yet. Wife is present at party so you know whatever it is, the syndrome is probably not debilitating enough to confine her to bed. She looks very normal etc. So what would be the best response to man's statement?
Aristotle:(The-Must-think-very-deeply squad) Hmm that's a pity have you considered how this may relate to the alignment of certain astronomical bodies?
Hippocrates: (The-Must-do-no-harm squad) I'm really sorry to hear that, how hard is it to manage?
Me: (The-Must-perpetually-and-stupidly-think-every-disease-is-cool squad) Hmmmm Interesting.
As the words left my mouth, the extent of their stupidity and cold heartedness struck me. This was not immunology class where every pathway was something to drool over, this was a human being...you know...the soul behind the pathway and the first words that come out of your mouth is that?! Needless to say the conversation ended a tad bit awkwardly and my attempts to dig myself out of the ten foot hole I dug seemed essentially futile.
I proceeded to kick myself for the rest of dinner.
posted by ABBEY | 1:28 AM
2 Comments:
Hi A: It's me, everyone's aunt. I have been reading, and I have also tried to research Easter Monday for you. All I come up with it was started as a Catholic Holiday, and others pick it up. In St. Thomas, they are off from Holy Thursday, through Easter Monday. So tradition has much to do, and I am trying not to hate, since I had to work. I've been dealing with a repeated illness, and who knows, may start a blog about it. Or NOT :-). Folks will have to wait around for the novel. Be Blessed, and thanks for the lovely blog.
Wow you guys get thursday too! Stay strong and may GOD see you through it all.
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