Monday, April 25, 2011

Dissected

The anatomy article is running today.  I want to be a writer--not for my diary but for the public.  I know I've got to be open to scrutiny.

But damn if I don't feel entirely dissected right now.  On display, vulnerable.  The irony hasn't gone unappreciated.

21 comments:

  1. Came here after reading the LA Times article. Beautiful writing, interesting thoughts. Hope to keep hearing from you.

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  2. If it helps, I just read your article, which caused me to now find your blog. All I can say is that you *are* a writer, and I think you'll be an excellent physician.

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  3. I read this article via the Chicago Tribune and I thought it was lovely. I'm strongly considering donating my body to people just like you, to learn from it and to be able to treat the living better because of it. The occasional giggle at a truly peculiar situation would be, I would think, totally acceptable. Because think about what you're doing; no one else does this. It's so nearly absurd, sawing through a skull, or bashing through a kneecap; what else can one do but laugh a little? I see no disrespect in that at all.

    I really enjoyed the article about your post. I'm looking forward to catching up on your blog and reading your future posts.

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  4. Beautiful, respectful article in the LA Times today. I'm sure you are very busy with your studies but I appreciate that you took the time to write out your thoughts. Thank you.

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  5. I really enjoyed your article! I have several friends in medical school, and now i know what they go through. thank you for the insight.
    please keep writing.

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  6. Just read the LA Times article. Found it fascinating. I admire your frankness. I suppose that compartmentalizing will be the way to distance yourself from these dissections. I would venture that most people, myself included, simply would not be able to do what you and others in the medical community must do. My gratitude and thanks for your sharing.

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  7. My husband pointed out your article in the LA Times. He usually doesn't read anything to do with medical issues. He said to me,"I think you will like it!" He was wrong. I loved it!

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  8. Shara, I just read the LA Times version and was deeply touched (I'm a PhD pharmacologist who has taught medical students, although not in anatomy.)

    In that comment thread, focus on the message from commenter "thomasthegreat."

    You have the depth of humanity, capacity for reflection, and skill with language that is pathognomonic of the great physician writers. Keep it up when you can. Congratulations on publication in the major press and thank you for making me aware of your blog!

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  9. Loved your article.

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  10. Thanks for your article; it was a great and insightful read. As a student beginning medical school next year, I appreciate the care and thought you gave to understanding the complicated relationship with the cadaver.

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  11. I am a physical therapist; I've had the same thoughts and mix of emotions when doing dissection. Thank you.

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  12. I have just read your article in the LA Times and would like to commend you for taking the risk and making yourself vulnerable.

    This is the best article - of any kind - I've read for a long, long time. Not only are you a thoughtful, articulate young woman, but you have read 'The spirit catches you' - an important and wonderful book in my opinion and are prepared to question the status quo and to do so in a carefully considered manner.

    I am involved in developing resources for medical and healthcare education, mostly (but not exclusively) in the UK. We try very hard to encourage people to feel as well as to think. There are many opportunities to develop intellectual capacities and to acquire knowledge. There are fewer opportunities to reflect deeply on the meanings of things and still fewer to cultivate compassion. You are an amazingly talented writer and will, doubtless, be a wonderful, kind, compassionate physician.

    Please look at our website - www.patientvoices.org.uk - we would love you to make a story - and, even more, to keep in touch with you.

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  13. Strangely enough I came across this article while doing a google search on "gross anatomy lab" - because see, I work as an admin/coordinator at Cincinnati Children's, and with the University of Cincinnati across the street where I go to the gym I always see the signs saying "Gross Lab" and hear my fellow group fitness participants talking about their gross lab that day (medical students). When I read this article, it actually brought tears to my eyes - in a good way. So beautifully written, and it gives such an amazing look into the world of medicine - especially for someone like me who will likely never venture that far into it :) Thank you for this, and please keep writing! I'm a fan!

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  14. Great article and great talent, Shara. Count me in as a follower!

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  15. I read the article in the LA Times last night and was very impressed. You touched a some poignant issues... Life in-relation to the death of our bodies and how we perceive people in relation to their bodies.

    Keep writing - you are a sensitive, insightful woman.

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  16. Hiya Shara. I took anatomy and helped at my school later as a teaching assistant in the cadaver lab. I had these same feelings, and the smells came back strongly, in my mind.
    I won't donate my body to science. I just can't reconcile your take on it, even after your personal misgivings about donation of one's body for medical pedagogy, with my (maybe irrational) fear of being a patient, even when my spirit or consciousness may well be far from there.
    I like how you described the different stages of the dissection, and strangely, I wish I could continue lingering over your shoulder and see the progression of your skills, as you become more dexterous with the tools of the trade. Write more! I'll keep coming back for another episode, I hope you get enough sleep to write at the end of the day. Ben

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  17. After reading your article, I am more prepared to donate my body. If it means that more people like you are the student then that means more people like you will be the doctor.

    I applaud you and I will follow you.

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  18. Thank you all so, so much. Your words and support mean a lot to me.

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  19. One of my friend is doctor and I take a lot of information of anatomy from him. And to read your article i learn some new.
    photo retouching

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