CPR doesn't really save lives. According to the American Heart Association, less than eight percent of people who go into cardiac arrest outside of a hospital setting will survive. EIGHT PERCENT. And that's not taking into account the fact that most people who do suffer cardiac arrest will probably face extensive brain damage (after all, cardiac arrest means your heart stops, which means blood is not flowing to your brain for a while. Thus, brain damage). So what really saves lives? I would argue that the compassionate people in the field of public health save the most lives. But an argument can be made that the people in public health are only as important as the corporations who fund their work. So maybe the businessmen who run health-focused philanthropic organizations actually save the most lives? Or are the politicians and lawyers who fight for human rights in areas of poor health the true heroes who save the most lives?
One thing is for sure - doctors do NOT save the most lives. Even though they probably get the most credit for it. Preventative interventions are more effective than curative interventions, for the most part. For example - obviously, you're going to save more lives giving out smallpox vaccines than actually trying to cure every person of smallpox. (Does that make sense? My global health professors explain it better. Sorry.)
I don't have the balls to go into the field of public health. Despite everything I'm saying about public health professionals saving the most lives, I still want to be a doctor. To begin with, I'm probably not empathetic enough to go into public health. And public health is also not hands-on enough for me. I don't want to sit behind a desk all day and fill out forms that designate how many vaccines go to refugee camp X. No - I want to be in refugee camp X actually administering the vaccines.
Like I said, I don't have the balls to go into public health. I'm too selfish.
I want to be a war surgeon. I have made becoming a war surgeon my life goal, my destiny, my fate, my number 42. War, in my opinion, is the most unjust of all the injustices. Many people assume that as a war surgeon, I intend on enlisting the army. No. No. NO. Also, why can't war surgery be a KNOWN profession? Like - mailman, businessman, baker, police officer, war surgeon. Casual. Quite the opposite - I hope to treat civilians in areas of armed combat, NOT the combatants. Civilians make up the vast majority of fatalities and injuries during a time of armed conflict. In fact, terrorizing civilian populations is now a fundamental military strategy for most armies (thanks, Dr. Gino Strada).
Whenever people ask me what kind of doctor I want to be, sometimes I say, "I just want to do amputations." That usually gets me weird looks. It's true that as an EMT (that's me in the middle of the picture up there), I do "prefer," if you will, trauma patients over medical patients (but I put the word "prefer" in quotes because technically, I would prefer it if my patients didn't have to call 911 in the first place). But what I really want to do is war surgery, with a focus on treating and rehabilitating children who suffer traumatic injuries from landmines. And if you haven't read Green Parrots by Dr. Strada, I highly recommend it.
One thing is for sure - doctors do NOT save the most lives. Even though they probably get the most credit for it. Preventative interventions are more effective than curative interventions, for the most part. For example - obviously, you're going to save more lives giving out smallpox vaccines than actually trying to cure every person of smallpox. (Does that make sense? My global health professors explain it better. Sorry.)
I don't have the balls to go into the field of public health. Despite everything I'm saying about public health professionals saving the most lives, I still want to be a doctor. To begin with, I'm probably not empathetic enough to go into public health. And public health is also not hands-on enough for me. I don't want to sit behind a desk all day and fill out forms that designate how many vaccines go to refugee camp X. No - I want to be in refugee camp X actually administering the vaccines.
Like I said, I don't have the balls to go into public health. I'm too selfish.
I want to be a war surgeon. I have made becoming a war surgeon my life goal, my destiny, my fate, my number 42. War, in my opinion, is the most unjust of all the injustices. Many people assume that as a war surgeon, I intend on enlisting the army. No. No. NO. Also, why can't war surgery be a KNOWN profession? Like - mailman, businessman, baker, police officer, war surgeon. Casual. Quite the opposite - I hope to treat civilians in areas of armed combat, NOT the combatants. Civilians make up the vast majority of fatalities and injuries during a time of armed conflict. In fact, terrorizing civilian populations is now a fundamental military strategy for most armies (thanks, Dr. Gino Strada).
Whenever people ask me what kind of doctor I want to be, sometimes I say, "I just want to do amputations." That usually gets me weird looks. It's true that as an EMT (that's me in the middle of the picture up there), I do "prefer," if you will, trauma patients over medical patients (but I put the word "prefer" in quotes because technically, I would prefer it if my patients didn't have to call 911 in the first place). But what I really want to do is war surgery, with a focus on treating and rehabilitating children who suffer traumatic injuries from landmines. And if you haven't read Green Parrots by Dr. Strada, I highly recommend it.