RE: Medical training war stories

[carol marcus <csmarcus@ucla.edu>]

At 03:20 PM 7/20/00 -0500, you wrote:
>Not necessarily a war story, but I think the most telling example that many
>physicians are unfamiliar with radiation safety is the large number of women
>who are advised to terminate their pregnancies after receiving a few
>diagnostic x-rays. I have heard these stories and I have advised some women
>receiving this bad advice.
>
>Andy
>
>Andrew Karam, CHP              (716) 275-1473 (voice)
>Radiation Safety Officer          (716) 275-3781 (office)
>University of Rochester           (716) 256-0365 (fax)
>601 Elmwood Ave. Box HPH   Rochester, NY  14642
>
>Andrew_Karam@URMC.Rochester.edu
>http://Intranet.urmc.rochester.edu/RadiationSafety
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Dear Andy and Radsafers:

Don't blame the docs.  Most of them know that the radiation dose is trivial.
However, about 5% of babies are born with abnormalities, and the mothers go
to lawyers who have a field day, and to avoid a lawsuit, the docs recommend
an abortion.  Also, many women WANT the abortion, but they feel guilty about
it, and doing it because of radiation hazard "legitimizes" it.  The doc
helps them through their guilt.  So, be careful where you lay the blame.

Ciao, Carol

Carol S. Marcus, Ph.D., M.D.
<csmarcus@ucla.edu>


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