coming out of left field

Kelly. Gatherer of stories. Educator. Dancer. Scientist. Lifelong student. Finding the good, always.

[heardatmedschool]

Doctor: What do you see in this X-ray?

Students: *collective gasp*

Doctor: Please don’t do that in front of patients.

[manny-jacinto]

MANNY JACINTO arrives at the Hermès Menswear Fall-Winter 2025/2026 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 25, 2025 in Paris, France

[-breakthesky]

I have nothing appropriate to say.

[depsidase]

[bigandretired-deactivated202501]

[wolfythewitch]

This too shall pass but like holy fuck

[appalachiananarchist]

I had a moment regarding our CPR training videos for learners. I overheard the narrator say something about how only male mannequins and actors would be used. We have data showing that females are less likely than males to receive bystander CPR in public, and therefore, are less like to survive a public cardiac event. CPR and defibrillation require application of pads and pressure to the chest. Given the differing anatomy of the average male and female chest, it is reasonable to see why lack of training on both types of anatomy could lead to hesitancy. Many females will also be wearing undergarments, some of which may contain underwires or other metal parts that could leave rescuers unsure how to deal with while using an AED. Cultural taboos on exposing a female chest certainly play a role here too; that may explain why the differences are not apparent with cardiac events that happen inside a home, where both motivation and interpersonal familiarity are higher. It just seems to me that there are clear reasons why early training on female chests could make a difference, with emphasis on why early CPR and defibrillation are more important than modesty. I know some places have started using models with breasts, but it clearly isn't a practice widely adopted yet since I've never been trained on one.

[-breakthesky]

I am a female medical student who gets CPR/BLS-certified annually.

I have never, not once, in the last 4 years, had a training that included a female mannequin. We are also not instructed on how to approach BLS when a patient is wearing an undergarment.

Thank you for this reminder (and for all of insightful thoughts and education on this blog). I'll be emailing our SIM team, hopefully we can get some changes made!

[a-cloud-for-dreams]

Hey random thought but maybe you don't have to sexualize characters/people of color for you to value them

[wheeloffortune-design]

it's been a year so i feel more comfortable talking about it..

when you're atheist and you lose someone, religious people don't really know how to interact with you. it's fine, we have different worldviews.

'He's in a better place, now.'

Sorry auntie, but I don't believe that. I believe that his brain stopped working at 5h55pm on december 11th 2022, and that's it. Nothing after that.

It makes grief very difficult, because not believing in god or the afterlife also means accepting that you will never, ever see that person again. That's it. The end. Nada mas.

But, back to the aunties and other faceless people gravitating in the grey blurry waters of your awareness.

They tell you 'He's with god now' and you tell them 'Yeah I don't believe that' and.

they. get. annoyed.

Here I am, gutted open, the worst day of my life, barely holding myself together, and they! Get annoyed that I won't smile and entertain their point of view!

Another faceless person tried to heal me with cristals. She also got annoyed when I told her I didn't believe in that.

I usually don't really mind religious people. It's fine, we have different worldviews. I think I'm right but so do they. As long as they're good people, I don't judge them for their faith.

I'll even be grateful for them trying to console me. I get that you're trying to give me strength and love. Thank you.

But I'm going to be true to myself, yes even when I'm mad with shock and grief. And I still can't believe they got annoyed that I didn't play along to placate them, on the worst day of my life.

(I wanted to share because I've never heard anyone talk about atheism and grief, and the loneliness that comes out of it.)

[flameraven]

I have not lost anyone recently, but I purchased this book some time ago and found it helpful: Comforting Thoughts about Death that Have Nothing to Do with God.

Because as you say, there's very little discussion of how to think about death and handle grief as an atheist, when you don't have the comfort of thinking they're in an afterlife, they're just gone.

[flamingwell]

Please folks, whatever your own beliefs are, when you are comforting someone, you must align with *their* views and beliefs. You're religious and they're atheist? Maybe talk about how their loved one isn't suffering anymore, or remind your friend that they have a community around them who will support them as they grieve. You're atheist and they're religious? Go for that "they're in a better place" language, or that God is with them in their grief.

This is not a time that's about you. It's about the person that's grieving and you need to use the language that will connect with them! If you're not sure what to say, just tell them you're there for them and be present with them.

[dogemd]

I deal with death a lot at work. Not to the same level as my critical care colleagues, but a fair enough amount that my experiences calling family members and talking to loved ones at the bedside has given me an opportunity to address this very specific question. I am not infrequently the doctor calling time of death and talking with family. While everyone grieves differently, being the face of loss means my first thought is: I need to meet you where you are now. Some people want details or want to see a body. Other people cannot do that and that’s okay. I’ve learned over time how to read the people who want specific details of the process vs those what want euphemisms.

I am not religious. Like OP, I don’t have the comfort of faith or a belief system to guide me, particularly a culturally Christian influence here in the US. I also don’t want it.

But, things I know from dealing with the grief of losing my grandma: you can talk about the person who died and share stories to keep the memory of a person around. You can ask the person grieving to share with you about their loved one. You can hold space when people are deep in their grief. I often talk about preserving dignity in the dying process and after, and minimizing suffering. It helps avoid any specific religion while still showing support.

If you don’t know how to talk to someone after they have experienced a loss, sometimes your presence is the best thing you can offer.

[valtsv]

if you're not obsessed with a fucked up female character i hope that changes for you soon. becoming obsessed with a genuinely deranged fictional woman will change your life.

[spacevixenmusic]

It's 2023 and this joke is still somehow even funnier than ever.

[oaxleaf]

love myself a cockroach of a character. i look at them and go ”how is that fucker not dead? they should be dead. they should be dead ten times over. how are they not?” and 90% of the time the answer is a combo of sheer stubborness and homosexuality

[krfbooks]

we need to sexualize the public library system

[-breakthesky]

perhaps the only way anyone will pay attention to it

[depsidase]

[theoffingmag]

Please choose from the following menu options. Listen carefully, as our selections may have changed. If you know your party’s extension, you may dial it at any time. If you are calling about an existing reservation, or if you would like to make a new reservation, press nothing, your reservation is confirmed, you are already signed up, it’s going to happen, and there’s nothing you can do about it. The reservation is made. If you are calling because you would like to cancel your reservation, press one to hear the sound of a distant, hollow laughter. There’s no turning back now. Everything is in motion. If you are currently in the middle of your reservation and are experiencing difficulties or require assistance of any kind, press the palm of your hand to the center of your chest, feel your breath, and understand that no one is coming, that you are alone, and that this reservation is yours and nobody else’s.

— Dolan Morgan, "One Eight Hundred"

[bellybuttonblue2]

[scientia-rex]

Listen, if you’re a woman and you have a secret fear that the doctor is judging you for not shaving your legs or trimming your pubic hair or whatever, I would just like you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that if someone stopped me 30 seconds after your pelvic exam and asked me whether you’d shaved your legs, I could not tell them with a gun to my head.

[wheresonichedgehogwnt]

I cannot second this enough!

[wayfaringmd]

Co-signed.

[mdrambles]

You have truly transitioned to staff when you realize you inadvertently stole all of your trainees' pens.

[-breakthesky]

give them back!!!

signed,

an unrelated medical trainee who misses her pens