Welcome to Grand Rounds!

Grand Rounds:
Things That Inspire Us

S Palwick, N Brown, Emergiblog, S Rap, S Nurse, V Jones, A Driver, L Edwards, Anonymous, K Morrone, P Auerbach, Bongi, R Schwab, S Schwab, Kal, M Knife, E DNA, J Leow, Emer, JC Jones, A Tenderich, J Schwimmer, J Bookspan, C Bachmann, AADT, H Stern, Keagirl, ER Nursey, A Gruntdoc, Rachel, Louise, AJ Cann, B Mesko, B Ecology, V Dimov, D Williams, W Visitor*

Introduction:
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Welcome to Grand Rounds!

The theme this week is “Things that Inspire Us.” Every week Grand Rounds presents interesting articles from different authors. Our interests vary. Our writing styles vary. But we all share this weekly interest.

My wish was to use this week’s forum as an opportunity to “get to know” each other – what better way than to catch a glimpse of that which inspires us? And the hope is that perhaps one, or more, of the articles found here, having inspired a lone author, may go on to share that inspiration with others.

Methods:
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All posts that were received before the submission deadline were included in this edition. If more than one submission was received from the same author, one post was chosen for inclusion. Exclusion criteria included most submissions after the deadline and blatant advertising “posts.” Posts that followed the theme were placed higher than those that did not, and posts within the theme that were most interesting were given the highest placement possible.

Results:
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39 posts were received for submission. 29 of these followed the proposed theme. 10 (25%) did not. 3 (8%) authors submitted early (more than one week prior to deadline). 21 people (54%) submitted during the Tuesday to Friday before the deadline. 13 (33%) submitted the weekend prior to the deadline. 2 (5%) submitted after the deadline.

Posts that followed the spirit of the theme:
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Susan, a volunteer ER chaplain, writes about how her time in the hospital and at the bedside of the dying has shown her the love that exists among us, if we take the time to look for it.

Nancy from Healthline writes about her source of inspiration. She states that “doing things for others, and acknowledging that we are part of a community, is what parenting is all about. If we slow down and prioritize the people we interact with every day, we will be inspired - and peaceful - which will also infect people around us with a sense of well-being.” Although she uses parenting as the example, her words are applicable to everyone who have been guilty of getting caught up in things and forgetting what truly matters. Beautifully written.

Roy, Dinah, and Clink from Shrink Rap each write about the different things that inspire them. The list is long and diverse, from cannibals and disagreement and ants (yikes!) to the more mundane sunsets and food, family and friends. (phew!) Check it out.

Kim from Emergiblog , finds that inspiration is all around us, and all we need to do is take the time to look for it. It is in Donna, and Derek, and Sam. And we’re surrounded by Donnas, Dereks, and Sams.

There were several recurring themes that inspired the authors:

People:
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A special welcome to Someday… Nurse, who’s submitting to Grand Rounds for the first time. She finds inspiration in our blogging community – give yourselves a pat on the back!

Val from Revolution Health finds her co-authors inspirational. They work to save lives, make a difference in the third world, work to convert to electronic medical records, balance family and career, and give back to the community.

Ambulance Driver writes a moving story about his partner, who heroically tries to save a drowning victim. It’s inspiring that there are still people like Partner.

Laurie from A Chronic Dose writes about her ultimate inspiration – Dad. Some of his words of wisdom: “You can’t always get the answers you need to pursue the dreams you have. Sometimes you just have to make a decision that might not make complete sense now and grow into it. It’s a risk, yes, but there are very few certainties in this world.” Dr. Anonymous also shares some memories of his father.

Kerri from Six Until Me blogs about struggling with diabetes and a mother’s love.

Dr. Auerbach from Healthline shares a tragic story of a young man’s death. He found inspiration in the boy’s father, who suggested that others should learn from Derek and “not live their lives in a box.” How can one find meaning in freak accidents like these? Mayhaps they sober us and teach us to be grateful for what we have, the here, the now. And never take tomorrow for granted.

Places:
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Bongi , a general surgeon in the South African province of Mpumalanga finds inspiration from Kruger Park, a park with an area purported to be about as large as England where the wild things roam. Sounds amazing.

Rita from MSSP Nexus finds inspiration in the beautiful glass exhibit at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. What gorgeous works of art!

Work:
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Dr. Schwab recently posted a nine-part series on what it's like, in detail, to be operating in the OR: the sights, the sounds, the smells, the thoughts. Here is the first of the nine posts. He says “If that's not something that inspires me, I don't know what is.” Well said for a general surgeon.

Meanwhile, Kal shares the great feeling when one realizes we’re part of something larger. If you ever have a hankering for EMT/ambulance drama – you now know where to go!

Midwife with a Knife shares how she ended up getting paid for delivering babies

EyeOnDNA says “I’m going to be a total geek and send you a post about DNA, since it inspires me day in and day out.” My friends, that is dedication to work. I guess we could have guessed that from the blog name!

Jeffrey, an aspiring surgeon, blogs about what inspires him. He includes a “gentle reminder to never underestimate the power of every word and action. A simple thank-you, a gentle pat on the back, a word of encouragement, can sometimes be all it takes.”

Miscellaneous:
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Dr. Emer shares a heart-breaking picture and posts about how helping others includes “giving hope and opportunity to those whose lives have been demonized with constant pessimism.” Let’s not forget that.

JC Jones from Healthline posts on the sad situation in Somalia, and hopes that we too can be inspired to help out our distant brethren.

Amy from Diabetes Mine shares a few pictures of “a little something that moved her” while on vacation in Europe. What’s up with the dreadlocked sheep?

Dr. Schwimmer, shares with us a “mindmap, which he’s found inspiring and incredibly helpful in taking better care of patients and himself.” Looks complicated…

Christian Bachmann , who works as a science and medical writer and editor finds his blogging inspiration from “the facts and findings of medical research..” He comments on the relationship between famine and weight loss.

Jolie from Healthline is inspired by bones. She states that “In life you literally shape your health”, and she would like this post to “inspire people so that they can improve their health.”

Jon from Anxiety, Addiction, and Depression Treatments responds to a recent article on prescription drug abuse, “one of several issues that inspires the multiple authors at the AADT blog.”

Henry from InsureBlog, states that one of the primary reasons he blogs is to help people solve problems with their health insurance.

Those marching to their own tune:
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Keagirl weighs in on men’s focus on all things penis. Ever wonder what some people worry about? Check this out. Or, if you take yourself too seriously, better not.

ER Nursey shares a patient encounter that will sadden even the most jaded practioner.

Allen from Gruntdoc writes about why ER medicine is like practicing medicine in 1972.

Rachel from Tales of My Thirties documents a cute discussion between her Metformin and her glucometer.

Enoch writes about trying to lose two dozen pounds. Go Enoch, go!

Louise from Colorado Health Insurance Insider blogs about how spending money on obesity prevention could help the healthcare economy.

Dr. Cann sent an interesting article that proposes a link between obesity and bacteria, viruses, and prions. Interesting, but I'm still a skeptic. It’s hard to argue with calories in – calories burned = weight gain.

Bertalan from ScienceRoll posts about Second Life, an “educational island for genetics.”

Matt from Behavioral Ecology believes that “having a bad attitude won’t kill you.” (So you can survive longer as a grouch... just kidding!)

Clinical Cases and Images wanted to share Britain’s Got Talent Video – XXX

David from Health Business Blog discusses how he believes technology may be of help in medical diagnoses.

Discussion:
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Compiling posts from the last week was a constant work in progress. One of the most surprising findings (although not that surprising when one thinks about it) was that the word “inspiration” means vastly different things to different people. And that which inspires us cannot be simplified into one thing or a group of things. Rather, our authors finds inspiration from the most unexpected sources – from those closest to the heart to those thousands of miles away. From cannibalism to wielding a blade.

In addition, it was interesting to see the range of responses to the proposed theme. There were people who tried to write with the theme in mind, those that marched to their own tune, and those that wanted to submit a particular post AND get more hits, so made up a good story about how the contents of the post were, although not inspirational in the general sense, very inspirational to them and thus, circuitously, they too “followed the theme.” (You know who you are... >:D)

But none of this matters. As we gather here to read this collection, let’s marvel at the diversity of the members of the Grand Rounds, learn the many _other_ meanings of the word “inspiration,” and hopefully, use this to expand the breadth of things that inspire us, so that we too can learn to find inspiration everywhere we turn.

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This concludes another edition of Grand Rounds.

WV would like to thank Nick and all the authors. Send your latest submissions to Over My Med Body (link http://www.grahamazon.com/), who is hosting next week.

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WV has no relevant financial interests to disclose.
Reprint requests: Wandering Visitor

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I didn't prune submissions for Grand Rounds - everyone is included. If you don't see your submission here, something over the internet must have ate it! Please resubmit your post if you like - I'll add it in.

* The way the author names were put together at the beginning: if your full name can be found on your blog, I included it in the author listing. If only your first name could be found, that was sometimes used. If your blog name was shorter, that was sometimes used. And sometimes, a combination of the above was used (hey, trying to keep it interesting!) If you have very strong feelings about how your name/blog was (mis)represented, let me know and I’ll change it. Also, while some people may be miffed that their titles were left out of the authorship, it was done because I don’t know everyone’s degree, and I don’t think degree(s) really matter for the current edition. Sorry if you’re one of the few that is miffed.

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What's with the rainbows? They're circumhorizon arcs. They're here to remind us that, if you think you know our world, just look a little closer. You'll learn things you never knew. Inspiration is everywhere.

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