No Blood and Guts

I am finally back home,recuperating from a week of hosting a couple of Doc H's colleagues and their wives at our retirement "vacation" home.

I laid down the law right away... no blood and guts talk. This wasn't a conference or an off-site meeting. This place was our oasis away from our normal life where hospitals and patient care rule our daily life. "Here," I told them, "we gain some balance in our lives."

They were on their best behavior. I only had to break up the blood and guts talk a couple of times when I stumbled downstairs finding the men mumbling amongst themselves. Their own wives must have been beating them over the head about the same subject, because they quickly changed the subject.

Every now and then, hospital stories would work their way into dinner conversation, and one thing was  plainly evident. These men, with their salt and pepper hair,  still loved their jobs.

Yes, they are tired. Yes, they will complain about hospital politics, about the slow OR turnover rate, or hospital staff they have banned from their OR or their service.

But more importantly, they will discuss cases with an affective enthusiasm which can only leave you jealous. Wouldn't it be great if everyone was in love with their job?

So, I decided I wouldn't chant my mantra, "No blood and guts. No blood and guts." Instead, I listened and we all scoffed at the stories of over-bearing, famous patients and laughed the insanely ridiculous positions surgeons find themselves in from time to time.

And you know what?

It was kinda fun.