Day 66: Life update and facts about food insecurity in the U.S. & Michigan

Today's inane image of the day:

[Old image] from when I visited Mike in L.A. over Labor Day weekend.

This week has been moving by relatively quickly -- I believe this is due to the following:

1. Mike's visit is still fresh in my mind and the residual happiness is carrying me through the week
2. We had some very interesting lectures this week [from global health to food insecurity to the stigma around STIs]
3. We had a somewhat relaxed week [less lecture than usual]

Anyway, I'm not sure how I feel about a fast week... while this means that the weekend comes sooner, it also means that there are less days between me and my next exam. But, then it means that I'll see Mike again sooner... and also means that medical school is going to fly by too quickly.

On a more serious note...

One of the interesting lectures/talks we had this week was on food insecurity in the U.S. and locally in the state of Michigan. Last month, I retweeted an article originally posted by Jay Parkinson on an awesome new program in Michigan that doubles the value of SNAP benefits at farmers' markets. Yesterday, I learned more facts about food insecurity from Feeding America [nation-wide] and Forgotten Harvest [Metro-Detroit-based] such as:

• 37 million Americans (16.6% of the population) are food insecure
• 1,828,060 people in Michigan are food insecure
• 183,660 people in Oakland County are food insecure
• 471,470 people in Wayne County are food insecure
• 46% of Michigan's school-age children receive free or reduced price lunch in school
• Food insecure individuals feed a family on $3-$5/day

[Data source: Hunger in America 2010, Executive Summary, A Report on Emergency Food Distribution]

Even though Oakland County has been recognized as one of the most affluent counties in the nation, the fact still stands that there are people who need assistance to feed their families... yes, right in our own community. It's important to recognize this fact and really consider what it takes to live a life like this -- could you survive on $3-$5/day [that's like a Grande Starbucks latte right there!]? 

And the reality of our economy is that no one is safe -- someday, it could be you and your family that relies on the food that these great organizations provide. Collect some good karma by checking out how you can help out.

[Oh and the original goal of the talk was to spark interest in doing a Capstone project in food insecurity... oh the choices!]

Anyway, time to study!

Today's medical school fact of the day: Many people of Asian descent get an "alcohol flushed reaction" after consuming alcohol due to a deficiency in the enzyme, ALDH2 [which is largely responsible for the proper metabolism of ethanol].  - Biochemistry lecture notes [sort of... I added the Asian part].

Day 43: The intersection of patient interaction and technology

Today's inane image of the day:

Another image from my last trip to South Haven, MI -- you'll notice that on gloomy, rainy days, I just want to look at photos of beautiful, calming landscapes.

If you have ~20 minutes, please spend them watching Dr. Abraham Verghese's Ted Talk -- he's an extraordinary speaker and the subject of his talk [human touch and the return to one-on-one physical examination] is extremely relevant to everyone [since all of us are patients ourselves!].

While I completely agree with Dr. Verghese's discussion of the importance of the physical examination [if this art is ever eliminated from the profession, medicine will have lost one of its most important tools], I also believe that there is also place for technology in patient interaction. I do realize that the talk is primarily encouraging the use of our five senses to their fullest potential and does not necessarily condemn the use of modern technology, so I fully agree with that. But I do also vehemently believe that we should expand upon this discussion, and consider how improvements in communication and imaging can further enhance the physical examination.

Dr. Verghese mentions sitting down with a patient and listening uninterrupted for 45 minutes [which is quite an accomplishment, seeing that he also cites that most physicians interrupt their patients in under a minute] to learn their story. I completely agree with this method of history taking -- I know that when I am in the middle of a thought or am recounting a particular event, I need to just let the words flow or I'll completely lose the trail I was on. I also understand how difficult it is to restrain oneself from interrupting to ask more questions, or for clarification. Either way, I believe there is also value in learning about a patient through online chatting or video conferencing. This goes along with the model that Dr. Jay Parkinson devised for his own practice [I secretly have a huge crush on Dr. Parkinson -- his practice was an ingenius model] -- if you're unfamiliar with it, essentially, he never had a formal office, only made house calls, saw a limited number of patients a day, served only a couple of zip codes and used an online calendar to schedule all of his appointments. He was also available online for video conferencing. How incredible is this?!

Anyway, I'm just trying to point out that optimally, a physician would learn to use auditory and tactile signals in parallel with technology to provide the best care for their patients.

I am so excited to read Dr. Verghese's book, Cutting for Stone -- that is, when I find time to read non-medical-school-books...

Today's medical school fact: "The arm has 4 muscles, 3 of which are in the anterior compartment [biceps brachii, coracobrachialis, brachialis] and one of which is in the posterior compartment [triceps brachii]." -From U41 of Dr. Bee's lecture slides