PSA Update: Donating

     Today's post is just a super quick update on my previous post PSA: Donating. The first thing I have to say is that the Red Cross seems to have taken a cue from Sweden, and are now letting donors know when their blood is used, which I think is pretty excellent. I feels like a much better way to motivate people to donate again than to call them every. single. day. When it comes to donating your body to science, this recent podcast from Stuff You Should Know provides a lot of information about just what that means and the different ways you can do it: How to Donate Your Body to Science. Lastly, even if you can't, or don't want to, donate blood, marrow, or organs, there's still another way to donate your body while you're still alive: let medical students (no matter whether they're future PAs, MDs, NPs, RNs, etc.) examine you or be present during your exams. I cannot express enough just how valuable it is for me to practice examining real patients or even simply observe as my preceptor examines them and explains their findings and the patient's conditions. For an example, Charcot-Marie-Tooth is no longer a vague concept in my head, but a disease whose symptoms and treatments I can easily remember because I can associate them with the kind woman who said yes when my preceptor asked if he could use her as a teaching tool. Yes, it can be awkward, yes, students will make mistakes, and yes, your appointment might go a bit longer, but the experience you give to future healthcare providers is invaluable. Really, in the long run you're helping yourself, and everyone else, by helping make tomorrow's clinicians the best they can be. There's an added benefit for you as well since things are less likely to be missed if two people are covering your history and exam, and there's also a decent chance that you'll understand your own condition better once you hear it explained to someone else. Consider it.