Why would anyone invent smelly markers for kids? You know- those colorful markers with a chemically synthesized scent, everything from red cherry to black licorice to yellow lemon to brown sugar. I mean, should children really be developing a habit of sniffing markers.After today, a blueberry-smelling marker will never be the same.
During our surface anatomy session today, I got my body marked with a blue-berry smelling and brown crayola marker. The beautiful marks were visible on my chest. There was a line in the middle of my chest at my sternal angle (the place where manubrium meets the sternum) along with two blue-brown dots marking my second intercostal spaces (the space between my second and third ribs), one on the right and one on the left. There were also marks all on my back (I don't know what those look like for obvious reason).
In any other setting, having those marks might seem odd, but in medical school it seems perfectly normal.
It's kinda funny what my idea of normal has become. Before medical school, I would probably never have drawn on my skin or been comfortable with having my body poked (to be fair, it is technically palpation and percussion). But now I find it quite normal to have my classmates tap their fingers on me, feel for anatomic landmarks, and draw lines on my chest and back to outline my lungs, heart, and ribs. It's all in the name of medicine and learning.
I guess the whole experience of surface anatomy was not too bad. Performing the physical is a whole other story...(but I'll explore this topic more when I don't have a midterm).
Aside from the cold hands, fingers all over, and smell of scented-markers, I am really learning how to read the human body and notice key anatomical details. I know now where to place my stethoscope to listen for the heart and the lungs. I am beginning to see the body and what lies beneath.
Along with making sense of all the anatomical jargon, I am learning what it feels like to be a patient and how sometimes you just have trust others, even if they are people holding scented markers.
Aside from the cold hands, fingers all over, and smell of scented-markers, I am really learning how to read the human body and notice key anatomical details. I know now where to place my stethoscope to listen for the heart and the lungs. I am beginning to see the body and what lies beneath.
Along with making sense of all the anatomical jargon, I am learning what it feels like to be a patient and how sometimes you just have trust others, even if they are people holding scented markers.
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Mr. Scent Markers from http://farm1.static.flickr.com/26/63068474_085f15ece8.jpg
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2 comments:
ever considered being a writer..
no- I already have a day job :)
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