Now Streaming: How To Do a Kidney Transplant (vice.com) 64
tedlistens writes: In January, hundreds of students enrolled in the University of Leiden Medical School's 'Clinical Kidney Transplantation.' But they weren't there: the class is completely virtual, the world's first massively open online course to offer instruction in the surgical procedure. Taught by 13 doctors through videos and interactive modules...the free course isn't intended to replace real-life education with hospital patients. Nor is it likely to prepare students to conduct a kidney transplant anytime soon. (For a fee, students can receive a certificate of completion.) But it's part of a new digital push among medical schools around the world, including Harvard and Stanford, that are seeking to educate a generation of students raised on smartphones and to expand their audiences to virtually anyone with a computer and an internet connection.
Education for the masses (Score:2)
This is cool, I used to dream of widespread education back in the day. And now people are finding ways to do it, cheaply and en masse. This will be better for everyone eventually.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Yeah, just what we need, a bunch of amateur surgeon junkies out there in Central Park stealing kidneys for a fix. This is like a course in making bombs.
Cultural literacy (Score:2)
Yeah, just what we need, a bunch of amateur surgeon junkies out there in Central Park stealing kidneys for a fix. This is like a course in making bombs.
On the contrary.
As an adult in society, how can I decide whether to agree with a government pronouncement unless I have the relevant information?
How can I know whether a law is needed, whether the technical claims of a company (looking for investment) are feasible, whether some claim to the safety of our nation is credible, or whether some risk is worth worrying about unless I have the information?
I don't expect to be making bombs, but knowing the basic premise allows me to judge whether the reasoning behin
Re: (Score:2)
Oh, I'm not so sure. I believe that this will be the scourge of unicorns everywhere...especially ones named "Charlie."
Surgery Simulator (Score:2)
At least its an option. (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
I like the idea that if, in a most insanely dire emergency, where you can't get a real doctor, this might be available.
No this doesn't make sense. You don't just do a kidney transplant this isn't like removing a mole. There is a ton of followup and anti-rejection medication and labs that need to be run in the immediate postop and perioperative period. Doing a kidney transplant in the "bush" isn't realistic, so you don't need youtube to teach you how to do this if you are able to do this from a support standpoint the surgical staff are already going to know how to do the surgery.
I agree it would be a Bad Idea if you had NO formal medical training. But lets assume the worst case scenario here, you are in a area that is hundreds of miles away from the nearest hospital. You have a compatible kidney match, but the doctor on hand has been killed. If given the choice beteewn trying to flip between medical texts and seeing a guide, I'd ALWAYS chose the guide.
Re: (Score:2)
If you are just harvesting organs, you don't need any more skill than the average butcher. Although you probably do need to maintain some serious discipline regarding contamination of the organs. Again, the "surgical skills" are just the tip of the iceberg and are really aren't the main problem.
A Living Donor's viewpoint (Score:4, Informative)
Last June I donated one of my kidneys to someone I didn't know. It saved his life.
Currently, there are over 93,000 people on the kidney transplant waiting list. The wait for a deceased donor could be 5 years, and in some states, it is closer to 10 years. Patients are prioritized by how long they’ve been on the waiting list, their blood type, immune system activity and other factors. 80% of the people on the waiting list are on kidney dialysis. The longer a person is on dialysis and has to wait for a transplant, the short and long term success rates are negatively affected. On average, receiving a kidney transplant can double someone’s life expectancy.
Each day, 18 Americans die waiting for an organ transplant.
Please consider donating your kidneys after death, it can save lives. Better yet, consider doing a living donation such as what I did. All medical costs are covered by the recipient's insurance company. The results after a living donation are much better than after a post-mortum donation.
While the risks are not zero, they are about the lowest you can expect for any major surgery you can undergo as a donor
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Anything you could do before you cannot or should not do now?
Umm... donate a kidney, I'd assume?
Re:A Living Donor's viewpoint (Score:4, Interesting)
Fully recovered, no restrictions on anything. I was out of work for 4 weeks, and took a few more weeks to fully recover.
Interesting sidenote: I went in for a post-donation checkup, and my doctor felt a very small lump in my throat. it was checked out, and turned out to be a very early thyroid cancer. I had surgery on 2/29 to remove my thyroid, and have fully recovered from that. The tumor was extremely small, would not have been found except for the kidney donation. I have to be on thyroid medication for life, but I can live with that.
So, looking at it, I can say that donating a kidney saved two lives: the recipient and my own.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Why is medical care so expensive in the US?
Why do we keep hearing about doctors in hospitals working on average 74 hours a week (down from 105 a week) https://www.sharecare.com/heal... [sharecare.com]
Doesn't sound like there are too many doctors to me.
Re: (Score:1)
The market is very far from flooded, if the average hospital doctor is still working 74 hours a week.
74 hours a week is still way too many - the usual working week is 40 hours or so - 8 hours per day, leaving 8 for what is considered a healthy level of sleep, and 4 hours before and after to get ready, eat and go to work, get home eat a proper meal and get sufficient rest.
you wouldn't want to fly in a plane that was piloted by an overworked and tired pilot - that was doing double the normal hours, so why is
Re: (Score:2)
> Why is medical care so expensive in the US?
It's not. People intentionally confuse billing rates with amounts that are actually paid.
We also don't run the system at "100% load". There's some slack in the system that allows for timely medical care that often isn't possible in countries with "better medical care".
Re: (Score:2)
But more competition is healthy, and it will drive costs down. You can choose to either have a new doctor using old instruments or an old doctor using new instruments.
Re: (Score:2)
That's silly? Why would only Republicans believe in something basic like supply in demand. NOBODY works for free. Do you? Then why do you expect a doctor too, or a nurse, or an orderly?
If there isn't some reasonable expectation that they're going to get PAID, they aren't going to do diddly for you. That's why there's a Junior Doctor's strike brewing in the NHS.
Stuff isn't going to be made for you to leech off of if someone can't get rich off it first. Progress needs greed to feed on. This is why the Soviet
Re: (Score:2)
This doesn't make sense. Why not increase the number of medical schools to increase the supply of good doctors?
Re: (Score:2)
...sounds like a classic case of "treating the number" rather than the disease. This leads to overdiagnosis of any number of things in the US. The relevant question isn't "how many doctors do you have" but how long to you have to wait to be seen?
When you can see a specialist the next day, even on a weekend, then there's probably not a shortage.
Re: (Score:2)
Gee, somebody is afraid of a little competition, itching to return to the days when the AMA manipulated down the number of med school places.
13 Doctors? (Score:2)
Taught by 13 doctors
A grumpy old geezer, a shabby-looking chap with a recorder, a dandy, a Bohemian...
Re: (Score:2)
Taught by 13 doctors
A grumpy old geezer, a shabby-looking chap with a recorder, a dandy, a Bohemian...
This Tuesday on a all-new House MD [deviantart.com] - one of my favorite comics.
Missing information. (Score:5, Funny)
(a) Which motels are best for this type of surgery?
(b) How much ice does a typical motel bathtub hold?
I'm asking for a friend.
Re: (Score:2)
(a) Any near a highway so you can easily get away... I mean access it.
(b) Two or three buckets usually do. You do not want to endanger your victi...patient by hypothermia.
I read a lot, ya know...