Happy holidays! Enjoy Emma Thompson in "Wit" while you're on break. "Wit" won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for drama. It's funny and awkward and moving. Also: poetry! As someone who has done countless consent and DNR scenarios, this is a tough (but interesting! and powerful!) screenplay to watch; I can't imagine what it must be like if you have had cancer or lost someone to cancer.

Bonus gift: "UVM Medical Center hosts production of "Wit". SPs performing in a lecture hall! I wish I worked at an institution where this was possible.

"Wit," which won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for drama, comes to Burlington thanks to another woman named Vivian — Vivian Jordan, a Shelburne resident who plays the lead role and whose profession merges the performing arts with the medical arts. Jordan works at the hospital as a “standardized patient,” which means she acts out roles for medical students learning how to diagnose illnesses. It brings awareness of end-of-life issues and spark discussion on the complex nature of dying in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play. 

Inside the Simulation Studio

An SP shows us the inside of his studio.
[Self-Portrait (In the new studio) via wikimedia]

Oh, HELLO! Has anyone heard of the free "Inside the Simulation Studio" conference for SPs?  This sounds absolutely delightful!

Unfortunately, I can't find any recent info on it. Most of the information I can find is from 2013. But happily someone has posted videos from all the speakers! They include a wide range of diverse presentations including traditional power point, creative writing, music, roleplaying, films, recorded encounters, etc. The topics also span a wide range: the future of SPs, how to approach specific encounters, case development, active listening, feedback, mannequins, the scope of SP opportunities, etc.

I love the opportunity to watch other SPs talk and do what they love. But one of the things that really makes my heart sing is the specific emphasis on SPs and their creativity. Yes, I am analytical by nature, but the magic of SPs is the combination of heart, head and hand. So I am excited to see a group not only tolerate that combination, but embrace it.

All in all it's funny, informative and heartwarming. I hope they offer it again sometime. Check out the videos for yourself!

https://vimeo.com/channels/644246/82072169

Power ballads for mannequins

Are you an SP who works with mannequins? Then this unabashedly sentimental & irreverent video is for you!

Actor Seeks Role

All I can think of when I watch the SP-inspired "Actor Seeks Role" is how ironic it is that we work in the health industry but have so little access to health care:

This short film is much funnier and more tragic than when I wrote: "SP encounters are not a substitute for medical care." It's so easy to forget that SPs are considered temporary workers at best, and not eligible for the kinds of benefits other employees receive. Only one school I work with allows SPs to access medical care at their institution (which is, quite honestly, a big reason why SPs work at that school).

The Affordable Care Act really made a big difference in my ability to continue to contribute as an SP without living in constant fear of debilitating medical bills. I sure would like it better if schools were willing to include us on their health plans, though, or access to their care at a reduced rate.

Extra credit:
Of course, it's also charming to see how another SP studies, performs, and grapples with how to be a serious actor while being paid to be a pretend patient. Even while obviously exaggerated, it's certainly more realistic than that Seinfeld episode.

Pelvic anthem

If "8 Miles Wide" isn't the anthem for pelvic models/educators everywhere, it should be! By the way, this song is not at all safe for work, not even a tiny bit.

"It's not my vagina! It's our vagina!" Godspeed, you brave and valiant vaginas.

Empathy vs. sympathy: an animation

I loved this animation about empathy (one of my core values!). Student doctors are often so uncomfortable with my emotional discomfort that they want to fix or minimize those feelings. As a patient that often makes me feel worse, as if I am not allowed to be emotionally honest with my doctor. Then I feel like I have to take care of the doctor rather than the other way around.

According to the video, empathy includes:

• perspective taking
• staying out of judgment
• recognizing emotion in other people
• communicating that emotion

I like how this expands my view of empathy and gives me more ways to talk about it with students. I especially love when the video points out the use of "At least..." as an empathic terminator.

Homework:

Listen for ways your emotions are being received or deflected over the course of a week, even (especially?) by people you are close to. How does that make you feel? What would make you feel better?

Really quick

When I saw this (really quick!) video from Cooper Medical School, I thought, "YESSSS!" When students tell me they're going to do a "really quick" exam, it makes me feel rushed. If something is bothering me enough to make a doctor's appointment, I want a thorough exam, not a "really quick" one.