Ophthalmic pathologist Mort Smith sports a tablet PC for his lectures. I suppose that a nifty touch screen can come in handy when you’d like to circle some Merkel cells in your presentation for emphasis. Tablet PC’s are traditionally geared toward the mobile user who simply needs technology for note-taking and flashy presentations. These systems typically range from the 2lb-<4lb range, with limited video acceleration and slower disk platters (with the exception of those with solid-state drives).

I don’t find that tablet PC’s are entirely useful for medicine, since netbooks and superlights a la MacBook Air are plentiful. However, there is potential for tablet PC’s to be useful for the niche market of ophthalmology. We draw. We label diagrams with color, all in our progress notes. A touchscreen serves as the bridge between the ophthalmic exam and EMR. This union is not novel–Mayo Clinic’s ophthalmology department implements its own ophthalmic EMR that synchronizes seamlessly with the entire hospital’s records.

TabletPCreview.com, the de facto standard review site for tablets is a good starting point to explore the current product line. These systems do command a higher price tag than their non-tablet counterparts, but it is impressive how much power you can fit into the package. I’ve been entertaining the idea of acquiring a tablet for a while, and I almost made the jump until rumors surfaced about Apple’s venture into the table realm. That is a killer hardware that I’m itching to get my hands on.

It will be an interesting product cycle in the upcoming year…

computing, medicine ophthalmology, tech

It is difficult to find time to relax while in residency. For the ophthalmology resident, the time consumption of residency can be overwhelming, especially if your non-call days run from 7am-7pm (Sometimes 9:30pm). Many of our hobbies and pastimes are neglected in favor of more career-oriented activities.

I spoke with Drew Mays, an ophthalmologist at UAB, about the stresses of residency and a career. Drew won the Van Cliburn Amateur piano competition a few years ago while being program director of the UAB residency. He is tangible evidence that you can allocate time for your hobbies. To those of you who are unfamiliar with this venue, it consists of a gathering of would-be classical pianists who decided to pursue a career outside of music. Drew assured me that there will be a time after my training where I will find sufficient time to pursue my hobbies. He tells me that during residency, we have to prioritize our options to create the maximal ‘amount’ of happiness.

Not too profound advice, but it is indeed a fact that we lose sight of (no pun intended). The next time you feel lost in the midst of your training, think about Drew’s reassurance. It can help get you through the day.

misc hobbies, inspiration, life