smirkingatyou

Today we had our regular afternoon OB department meeting. It started slowly because people were telling stories and chatting. Someone brought up the book "The House of God" by Samuel Shem, MD. It's famous in the medical community, loved by some, reviled by others. (If any of you would like some dark humor and a bit of insight into what your doctor has been through, I suggest you read it.) I mentioned that the author was the speaker at the school's 2005 hooding ceremony. One of the residents turned to me and asked out loud, "Do you know how we got him to speak?" She then looked at the attending who was running the meeting. Apparently the attending physician and Shem (a penname) had gone to medical school together and remained friends. I was blown away.

It's not a very happy book, but beautiful in its own way. It was written during the 70's, so some things have changed. For instance, I have yet to screw a nurse while on call, a fact I loudly lamented (which cracked up one half of the room and silenced the other).