An Interesting Career Choice

Hey, that looks just like my kidney, or aorta, or something.....

The world of medicine is many things but never boring, which makes me regret not becoming a doctor or medical technician. Having received no advice from my parents beyond "get married" and "don't get fat," I never fully explored my career options and so became a designer because I was good at it. It's too late for me now, but maybe it's not for you.

This morning I underwent a few diagnostic tests ordered by a cardiologist to determine the underlying cause of my skyrocketing blood pressure. Naturally, since he's just an ordinary man in possession of neither psychic powers nor x-ray vision, to see inside my body he could do little else. But through interpreting the results of an echocardiogram and two vascular studies--a renal ultrasound and an abdominal aorta ultrasound--he might come up with an answer or even a cure. The entire process was much more interesting than anything else I might have done this morning, although having to forgo breakfast, and especially coffee, was a bummer. (Fasting is required so nothing obscures the view of the internal organs, like solids, liquid or gas.)

I learned a lot about the human body and met two very agreeable women who conducted the tests. The echocardiogram was straightforward, wherein three pieces of sticky tape with wires attached were applied to my chest, allowing the technician to move a wand with a camera inside it around my torso and photograph my insides using ultrasound waves, or something like that. Suddenly I could hear my heartbeat booming into the exam room as a series of wavy images radiated across the computer screen. I was comforted by all this as I could tell for sure that I was definitely still alive.

More interesting were the other tests, both of which also involved wands with cameras being moved over my torso.  Lying down on a table next to the computer, I could see pictures of my aorta and the arteries running from it to my kidneys. And there were my kidneys, both in working order. Somehow the technician understood all the beeping and flashing and colors jumping around the screen, looking for blockages and taking pictures of my kidneys doing their thing. It was all way beyond me, but since the tests lasted more than an hour I had ample time to learn about what was happening and how one prepares to do that for a living. Surprisingly it was not in medical school, but only a two-year program is required. Then you're all set to look at people's insides, and get paid to do so. It's like playing on computers but instead of pointless games signifying nothing, it's all about helping people live better lives.

I recommend it to anyone searching for a career. Regardless of what happens in the future, you can count on one thing: People will continue to get sick and either get better or worse. You'll always have a job no matter where you go, unless it's to Outer Space, but that seems to still be a ways away.