It has been a hectic week, and next week will be even more so. I will be appearing on a national blogger panel at the WCI Conference in Orlando on Monday (1:00), so if you are attending please do try to stop in. I need to leave WCI early, because I have to fly to New Mexico Wednesday for my mothers' interment later in the week. She passed last October, but as things go in a relatively small town, the local crematory could not have her ready by the services, so we return this summer to bury her remains.
The point being that I am not sure how much I will have the chance to write next week, so I thought I would take the opportunity to tell a quick joke I heard while at the Alabama Self Insurers Conference earlier this week. I think it is a perfect metaphor for medicine as practiced in this country today.
Four doctors go duck hunting; a Psychiatrist, an Internal Medicine guy, a Surgeon and a Pathologist. It is early, with light just breaking, and they are in a duck blind that only has room for one person to stand and shoot at a time.
As the first group of birds near, flying in a V pattern overhead, the Psychiatrist steps out and points his weapon skyward. He says, “They are ducks, but do they know they are ducks? Is it fair to hunt them if they are unaware they are ducks?” As he ponders that thought, the ducks head out of range and out of sight. He returns to the blind.
The next one to try is the Internal Medicine Doctor. As a flock of birds approach, he steps out of the blind and takes aim. He says, “I think they are ducks, but we need to be sure they are ducks. Are they ducks? Are they ducks? Are they ducks? Are they ducks?” The ducks head out of range and out of sight. He returns to the blind.
The next one to have a turn is the Surgeon. As a flock of birds approaches he steps from the blind and starts firing at the sky like a madman. Bam! Bam bam! Bam bam bam bam! Bam!
With feathers and chunks of bird falling to the ground all around them, he turns to the Pathologist and says, “Hey, go see if they were ducks”.
I don't know why, but that joke just spoke to me. I think the surgeon must have been a back specialist.
Hope to see you in Orlando. Happy Friday everyone!