Not exactly emergency medicine is it?

More hilarious brilliance from ‘That Mitchell and Webb Look‘ – following on from their ‘homepathic A&E‘ masterpiece.

This skit reminds me of a half-remembered anecdote from Frank Vertosick Jr.’s classic book about neurosurgical training, ‘When The Air Hits The Brain‘.

After yet another brutal shift the Orthopedics Chief says to Frank (a neurosurgical resident at the time) and the Chief Neurosurgical resident:

Been a tough year for you guys hasn’t it.

The chief Neurosurgical resident responds:

Yeah, at least three times as tough as the toughest three years of an orthopedic surgeon’s training.

Orthopedics Chief:

Really? And which three years are those then?

Chief Neurosurgical Resident:

Eighth grade.

Finally, budding neurosurgeons would do well to remember Frank T., Jr. Vertosick’s 5 rules of neurosurgery: [When the Air Hits Your Brain: Parables of Neurosurgery]

1. You “ain’t never” the same when the air hits your brain.
2. The only minor operation is one that someone else is doing.
3. If the patient isn’t dead, you can always make him worse if you try hard enough.
4. One look at the patient is better than a thousand phone calls from the nurse.
5. Operating on the wrong patient or doing the wrong side of the body makes for a very bad day – always ask the patient what side their pain is on, which leg hurts, which hand is numb.

References:

• Vertosick FT Jr. When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales from Neurosurgery. 2008
• Vertosick FT Jr. When the Air Hits Your Brain: Parables of Neurosurgery. 1996