I have no idea where this picture comes from, but it’s a pretty interesting look into some of the history of medicine. As @notasmedicina points out, it’s pretty disturbing to see them working on someone without gloves. Take a look below to see what I mean.
Is anyone else disturbed by the lack of gloves?
#MedEd #ether #etherdome #surgery #surgeon #hcsm #HITsm pic.twitter.com/OPeOpepAv9
— Medicine Notes (@NotasMedicina) August 20, 2014
As I saw this, I thought about how far we’ve come with EHR software. I wonder if 20-30 years from now we’ll look at a picture of a paper chart and feel disturbed. I imagine my children will look at it and wonder how a doctor could practice medicine with a paper chart.
It celebrates the first use of ether in surgery at Mass General. While it is in the style of Thomas Eakins’ scientific realism (think The Gross Clinic or The Agnew Clinic), it is actually a modern painting done from a re-enactment 150 years later. http://www.massgeneral.org/history/exhibits/ether-dome-painting/
Thanks for the background and history Sarah. Love it.
Hi John,
What this picture brings to my mind is the fact that while use of ether spread rapidly, another discovery of the mid-19th century – the importance of hand washing – did not! (So it’s not lack of gloves but likely lack of hand washing that disturbs me.)
Read this great article by Atul Gawande to learn more:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/07/29/slow-ideas
Amy
P.S. The Ether Dome is open to the public – you should stop by next time you are in Boston at MGH