Loved this piece! The detail about scanning for good veins at a concert really captures how deeply technical skills reshape how we see the world. I remeber when I was in nursing school, suddenly noticing everyones vascular systems everywhere. What stands out is how vulnerability is built into mastery here, like the blood puddle incident showing competence requires riskng real mistakes on real people. Not just practice rounds.
Really enjoyed your thoughts on this, and that you can relate in your nursing school experiences. The practice rounds are scary but essential, and the "vulnerability built into mastery" like you so well put it is actually what kept me from going any further. Just didn't think I'd be able to ever place an IO on a kid. Was/is nursing your career?
“Pooling on the Costco table,” was especially gripping! I wish I could remember events, so voraciously, vividly and as detailed as you !! Maybe if I started writing them it would come;) ( and if I put in as much effort as you do) If I build it, they will come!! Thanks
Thank you! It’s so fun to know what stands out to readers, so thanks a bunch for the comment. It’s really interesting to see what very specific details bubble up in my memory as I spend time with a story or slice in time. I bet you’d find the same thing, I’ve just been able to spend more time in the practice as a writer.
This one delighted me to no end, for obvious reasons. Why don’t we share more medical horror stories with each other?? (Remind me to tell you when I too was the cause of a really big blood puddle on the floor…)
It delights me to know you were delighted by this one. Medical horror stories are endlessly interesting and we should definitely share more with each other :) Like the blood puddle you caused...
Loved this piece! The detail about scanning for good veins at a concert really captures how deeply technical skills reshape how we see the world. I remeber when I was in nursing school, suddenly noticing everyones vascular systems everywhere. What stands out is how vulnerability is built into mastery here, like the blood puddle incident showing competence requires riskng real mistakes on real people. Not just practice rounds.
Really enjoyed your thoughts on this, and that you can relate in your nursing school experiences. The practice rounds are scary but essential, and the "vulnerability built into mastery" like you so well put it is actually what kept me from going any further. Just didn't think I'd be able to ever place an IO on a kid. Was/is nursing your career?
“Pooling on the Costco table,” was especially gripping! I wish I could remember events, so voraciously, vividly and as detailed as you !! Maybe if I started writing them it would come;) ( and if I put in as much effort as you do) If I build it, they will come!! Thanks
Thank you! It’s so fun to know what stands out to readers, so thanks a bunch for the comment. It’s really interesting to see what very specific details bubble up in my memory as I spend time with a story or slice in time. I bet you’d find the same thing, I’ve just been able to spend more time in the practice as a writer.
This one delighted me to no end, for obvious reasons. Why don’t we share more medical horror stories with each other?? (Remind me to tell you when I too was the cause of a really big blood puddle on the floor…)
It delights me to know you were delighted by this one. Medical horror stories are endlessly interesting and we should definitely share more with each other :) Like the blood puddle you caused...