Vienna – 1/11

Yesterday we visited Pfizer, which was eye opening in the sense that we were introduced to jobs for MDs other than working in a hospital or private practice! I never would have guessed that pharmaceuticals was the way to go if you wanted to work in medicine abroad. Gaining such an understanding of the company and how it must comply to government law, especially concerning universal healthcare, was very helpful, because as was mentioned, most doctors have no understanding of this, not to mention the system in a different country. This allows us to be more knowledgeable particularly when prescribing generics or name brands. We also visited the Freud house yesterday and had a lecture by Dr. Wasser. Even as a psychology minor, much of Freud’s life and theories is glazed over in class – it is almost assumed that we already know it. So, having such an in depth glance into Freud’s life and theories was fantastic. To see the actual site of where such an influential person in human history lived and worked was profound, to say the least.

Today was one of my favorite days of the trip, since I go to see the private collection of obstetric wax models at the Vienna Medical School. This was a culmination of all the obstetric information I have seen so far, including the infant preserved specimens at the Charité museum and the Narrenturm, in addition to the models at the Deutsches Hygiene Museum. Seeing all these models have helped me understand conditions that I never would have had the opportunity to see while shadowing as a pre-medical student, for instance spina bifida, anencephaly, and conjoined twins. Seeing these preserved infants, for instance at the Narenturm, is hard for me, since I am all about respect for life and preservation of rights for those who cannot advocate for themselves, like infants. However I have now personally experienced how these models are used to educate, in my case a future OB/GYN! Although I still have mixed feelings about the situation, I can defend the use of such specimens for education, which in a way overcomes the disrespect that was done to the children.

The wax obstetric models at the Josephinum were awesome. I am glad to have seen and appreciated so much sensitive information on this trip to be able to handle such a sight – I think that this is helping to make me a better OB/GYN! Seeing models of actual human births, including abnormal breach births, was once again, something I would likely not have seen as a pre-medical student in America. Seeing use of forceps and use of abortion techniques made me so uneasy, once again because these techniques are still sometimes used unethically today, in my opinion. But what this trip has helped me realize more than anything is that knowledge of as many techniques and as much research as possible is the most important thing in the world, regardless of whether you agree with the technique or the research. Having such a breadth of knowledge and an understanding and respect for different viewpoints is essential to being a doctor in order to keep yourself acquainted with the world around you and also to push the limits of common knowledge. After all, “Nur ein guter Mensch kann ein guter Arzt sein.”