I can't believe its taken this long. Surely, one would have thought 8 months into intern year I would have experienced all there is to hospital medicine; so one would have thought. Turns out, there's this unique experience to Virginia, that being Shiffletts. Sure I heard about 'em, mostly in verb form, ie 'dude, he got shifflett'd,' but I never had the opportunity to care for one.
Who is it I speak of? Legend has it, there is a large group of people that have relegated themselves to the Shenandoah National Valley, living on and around the mountains (read: hills). These people for the most part have cut themselves off from the surrounding areas and unfortunately receive virtually no healthcare. However, the MOST interesting part is the naming of said group. The letters of last name of those in question vary in number, meaning you will see these variations: Shifflett, Shiflett, Shiflet, Shifflet, Shiflett. So why the difference? Well again legend goes, it depends on affluence the amount of letters one has in their last name. To this day, I'm not really sure which is better; less or more.
Apparently, at any one time there are a good number as inpatients at the hospital. Yet, for whatever reason, I was never so blessed as to care for one. So whats the big deal? I had a Shifflett for a patient, I just thought you should know.
Monday, March 17, 2008
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