This is a medical conference for the Central Sterile Department so its on instrumentation and cleaning and sterilization and regulations and standards and all. I've attended this conference every year for about 6 years now and there has only been one year where I've gone and the keynote speaker has actually really been relevant.
For instance, last year, they had that little lady from that show on TLC --- Small People Big World or something like that. I can't even remember her name and I have seen the show once or twice, enough to know that she has absolutely nothing to do with the medical field except that she's been to the doctor. With that information, any of you reading this would be qualified to speak out our next conference :) Granted, she did give me a little perspective, or rather herself, in that, because of her condition and her son and her husband's like condition, they spend a lot of time in the hospital and having procedures and stuff. She was talking about how they would go in and if they had a good feeling with the doctors and the nurses than they felt good about the hospital they were in. They never stopped to consider how many people did so many important things in areas and departments they couldn't actually see. It brought the truth home to me, but it wasn't anything that I personally hadn't considered before.
So -they send out an email with an announcement about the keynote speaker this year and I'm getting ready to get excited about hearing the chair person of McDonalds or the Vice President of Avis Rent A Car and instead.....
Well - I'm so excited, I'll just show you who's speaking!....
I KNOW! Can you believe it! I'm SSOOOOOO excited! I'm serious!
I know there are some ignorant people out there who actually don't know who this is -- for those people.... ITS JOHN BOOKWALTER! Its so crazy to actually be able to hear him speak!
There are some people who are still totally ignorant to who this is, so, I'll give you another little piece of information. This is the man who invented an amazingly popular medical device.
I mean seriously - how can you not know who this is. I'll give you one more little hint...
I know - I kind of gave it away with this picture, but now you're probably all slapping your heads and thinking how stupid you are. Thats ok - don't feel badly - it could happen to anyone.....
The Bookwalter Retractor (better known as just "Bookwalter") is the Phillips screwdriver of the thoracic surgeon's Instrument Set. Its this huge ring retractor where they attach it to the side of the OR table and the they cut you open, spread your ribs and plop this thing inside to keep you all spread open nice and even-like. Then they start attaching various separate instruments of torture that help a surgeon do his job, like blades and other things and then they can easily work on your insides from the outside.
The word Bookwalter is soooo common in CS and OR. This is like the big time instrument that people refer to and it really has, I'm sure, revolutionized the way thoracic surgery is done. So, I truly am excited to hear Dr Bookwalter speak (thats sounds so weird to be using that word in the context of a human being, "Bookwalter" - crazy, I never even thought about this being a person!) and I'm excited that, for once, someone will be able to speak in relevance to the medical field and to surgical instrumentation and what we do in CS.
So - that being said - I'm SOOOO excited about hearing Dr Bookwalter speak and I'll totally let you all know what amazing things he says during the conference in May. Don't everyone be jealous that you can't go - I'm just lucky that way....
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