Mmm...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pot noodle

11:41:56 PM    

To laugh?

One of the recent BMA news snippets showed that patients laughed 4x more than their doctors during consultations. It was mostly during potentially stressful, intimate or embarrassing moments and situations. Some calls were made for doctors to return this laughter. This leads me to wonder if these researchers have ever been in a consultation.

It depends, first time visit, tread extremely carefully. It the patient asks, "Does my bum look big in this" it's probably best bnot to agree.  Other patients whom you've seen before, consider it quite a little victory to crack a smile from the doctor.

11:39:18 PM    

Surgical Simulators.

They're a little like Operation.  Today students can practice all sorts of skills on surgical models like TraumaMan®, the Hillway Man, or Geri, the Geriatric, who comes complete with wrinkles. There's spinal surgery, gall bladder surgery, ultrasound/amniocentesis, suturing, and casualty kits. Some of them give me the I'm-a-silly-git giggles and naming a company Limbs & Things doesn't help. There's the head with all sorts of things wrong with it, including Extraneous Lumps.

The toe with refills is pretty nifty, but disturbingly life-like.  There are strap-ons and table-top models.(Possibly NSFW)  Some could make interesting conversation pieces.  (Also poss. NSFW)
In addition, Somso, maker of the dial-a-prostate model above, also makes interesting non-interactive models like this fandex of a head, a larynx with tongue, or a fingertip. They also have neat models of animals, fungi, and flowers. [MetaFilter]

These are very cool, a constant source of amusementfor medical students.

6:38:07 PM