Category Archives: Culture

Scrubs

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I saw them on the T in Boston. I see them crossing the street in Seattle. And it makes me wonder: why do people wear medical scrubs out on the street?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought the whole point of scrubs was to have a cleaner set of clothes when interacting with patients, to keep the hospital clean, to be easily tossed in the wash and replaced when things got a tad too messy in surgery.

Doesn’t wearing scrubs on the street negate all that? They pick up the dust from home, the pollution from the roadway, the sneeze from the guy on the bus. And they bring all these goodies in close contact to the vulnerable patients needing care.

I can only speculate why people do this. One hypothesis is that the doctors and poor med students are pressed for time, and it’s such a time savings to not have to decide what to wear, only to get to the hospital and have to change into scrubs. Why, just wear scrubs all day and be done with it!

Maybe hospitals don’t have enough lockers for all the personnel to change into medical uniforms. Or maybe it’s a money-saving measure to have them launder their own, since the hospitals already have to deal with other biohazards and patient gowns and what have you.

Or maybe it’s a status thing: “this is the uniform I wear all day, so I might as well wear it on the street, and oh-did-you-notice-that-I’m-in-medicine?” Not that there’s anything wrong with that; we all want recognition and appreciation, and we all seek to identify ourselves as members of one group or another, whether it’s working for a Good Internet Company or being a policeman or participating in a group ride.

But still, seeing scrubs on the street irks me as a subcultural fashion statement that undermines putting the patient first. (That said, it seems that the lab coat may be on its way out.)

If you read this and you wear scrubs, I’d love to hear your side of the story.

MJ: Random thoughts

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Some random thoughts on Michael Jackson’s death:

  • Whatever else can be said about him, he was a great musician and entertainer, and I am sad not to see what other works he would have created.

  • All the obsession with staying young and living forever did not help. In the end, he died tragically young. There’s a lesson here: plan for the long term, yes, but focus on the important stuff (say, medication, therapy) rather than minor, speculative details (like oxygen chambers).

  • Doctors do still make housecalls— at least if you’re rich enough to have your own. Can you imagine MJ waiting for his appointment at the Polyclinic?

  • I’d like to be rich and even well-known, but having this sort of mega-celebrity status would not be fun. The lack of anonymity and the resulting isolation seems crippling.

Candy Galore

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Tick tock tick tock tick tock

Every couple of years, now, I find myself indulging in a bit of fervor. No religious revival for me, nor the frenzied self-righteousness of the political acolyte. No, my diversion is more circumscribed than that: attending a Madonna concert!

This weekend found us in Vancouver for Madge’s Sticky and Sweet Tour. It was fun and entertaining as always. My floor seats were awesome: close enough to the stage that I could clearly see Madonna with the naked eye and actually take in her expressive facial poses with my binoculars. While she looked good in person, I found, interestingly, that the Jumbotrons were rather, uh, unflattering, at least from my angle: weird shadows and too much eyeliner.

It seemed at times as though she was trying to do a more traditional rock concert: she had a hand or stand mike throughout, rather than her Blonde Ambition headset; her costumes were nice but not shocking or over the top; she played her guitar often; and she led the audience in a sing-along. But then again, how traditional can you be when you’re Madonna? The concert also featured, oh, let’s see, a white convertible, a boxing rink, and flamenco dancers. That’s without even mentioning the virtual Britney (which I missed) and the virtual Justin (which I though was cool).[UPDATE: Though not as cool as seeing them both in person, as the lucky Los Angelinos did!]

It was a Big Deal for Madonna to come to Vancouver. Throngs converged on B.C. Place and police were on hand to divert vehicular traffic and keep order. The stadium itself was packed, as the molasses-like crowd moved in and then out of the venue. Fire trap if I ever saw one. Swag? I got a concert program, of course, but decided to hold off on the T-shirts: $25 for Obama tees, $50+ for Madonna. Silly.

I had been wondering why this concert was on a Thursday night. The answer was soon apparent: Friday was Halloween, and Vancouver’s West Enders take Halloween Very Seriously. We saw people in costume all day, there were parties till the wee hours, and yet again the police were closing off streets and keeping a watchful eye.