Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Doctor, heal thyself

I'm really going to kick myself for taking that title so early in the blog's life; I'm sure I'll need it later.

But it is appropriate here. The story goes:

Yesterday was our first day of preceptorships, a sort of guided clinical rotation series, in which we're paired with real live physicians who give us an introduction to patient interviews and exams. We know nothing. We're all nervous. I manage to run a little late as I leave the house and get on my bike, speeding down streets I don't know so well.

At an intersection, with typical "biker's arrogance" (I just made that up, but you know what I mean, don't you?), I edge under a red light -- and am hit from the side by a car in the far right turning lane, who hadn't seen me coming and is taking off as the light turns green. My bike and I are knocked down, and I land on my side, my helmet the last thing to hit the pavement.

And, I'm fine. I'm a bit scraped up, and am paying $90 for a new back wheel and for fixing the front inner tube, but mostly I'm thankful that I got off so easy. I even made it to the preceptorship in time for a really fascinating morning. It could easily have been much worse: according to the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center at the University of Washington, over 500,000 people in the U.S. end up the ER every year because of bicycle accidents. The lesson here for doctors, doctors-in-training, and everyone else: nothing is so important that you should speed through a red light. Have some perspective, and think about your health and safety.

And, tonight is the first night of Rosh Hashana. Happy New Year, and remember to wear a helmet.

2 comments:

RFamily said...

i'm glad you're ok...and still able to run :) although i haven't done much since school started.

any way to coordinate some sort of video conference between you, my kids, and the cadaver??? hmmm.

i'm excited you're writing this! and happy new year to you.

darcy said...

E, I'm loving this blog. Ditto on the 'happy new year,' too - a little late.