It always makes my heart sink when the CPR guidelines change.
In 1980 I became a provider of advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS) as certified by the American Heart Association. This was a great move. Through my internship and the many years that followed, it proved comforting to know that I would act decisively and with confidence in the setting of a cardiorespiratory arrest. The ACLS course dictated dogmatic protocols – …
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I had wanted to take a long motorcycle trip for years, and I finally carved out two weeks to do so. My pal Doug and I packed our gear onto our Harleys and headed out without an itinerary. We would select the day’s route each morning. Initially, we enjoyed spectacular scenery and good times.
After a few days, however, we encountered pouring rain while winding through remote mountains. There was no …
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During my internal medicine internship in 1980 a professor chided our team because housestaff no longer prepared and interpreted peripheral blood smears. He scoffed that they don’t make doctors like they used to. I have heard similar lamentations through the years. I imagine that millennia ago Galen griped that his apprentices did not examine phlegm and feces closely enough. I noted that I should not become a crotchety critic when …
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