A few weeks back, another resident and I had the opportunity to serve as the IAFP Physician(s) of the Day for the Indiana General Assembly.  Basically, you hang out at the state capitol and treat another with urgent or emergent medical problems.  There's a little medical office with supplies and an exam table, and you get a pager so you're not tied to the office if there aren't any patients to see. 

Things were relatively slow that day medicine wise, so we spent most of the day wandering around the capitol and eating free breakfast from the Indiana Soybean Alliance.  No, really, the ISA provided a delicious (non-soy based) breakfast for Senators, Representatives, their staff, and apparently a couple of "you don't look old enough to be a" doctors.  Go figure.  Drug companies can't provide free pens because they might skew our prescribing practices, but the Indiana Soybean Alliance (and about 100 other interest groups) can provide free breakfast, and maybe some informational pamphlets, to our lawmakers.  Hypocracy if you ask me.  And yes, I did take an ISA pen off the table.

Anyway, part of being Physician of the Day is that you are introduced in both the House and Senate when they convene.  The Senate's meeting for that day lasted about 2 minutes, and sounded more like an auction than lawmaking.  But it was certainly interesting!  Our stint in the House was a little more dramatic.



Excuse the sideways-ness of this picture.  In trying to fix that, I almost threw my computer on the floow, so I decided to just give up.


So, one of the perks of being POD is that you actually get to stay on the floor of the House (or Senate) while they're in session.  Really no one other than the Representatives, the occasional staff member, and the Minister of the Day get to do that.  Normally, I'm sure that's a pretty pointless perk.  There's a gallery that any Joe Schmoe off the street can sit in and overlook the session... and the day we were there, there were a LOT of Joe Schmoe's sitting up there, as well as a lot standing outside the doors of the House.  We just so happen to have come on a day that the house was voting on "Right to Work" legislation, which deals with whether or not an employee can be required to be a member of a union.  I don't really get unions all that well, so I don't have a great opinion of this legislation.  I do know that a LOT of people were very worked up about it.  Looking at the debate (which lasted about 4 hours that day, involved a fair bit of yelling, chanting, and some stories that made absolutely no sense), in the pure sense of a debate, I would say the republicans (who wrote the legislsation) won, hands down. 

Either way, it passed, to later be voted on by the senate and signed by the govenor.  It was very exciting.

I think this was a slightly atypical day as POD, given the high profile legislation that was being voted on.  However, I still think it was a cool opportunity and would love to do it again!

Peace out,
Kari

PS.  Yes, I do realize it has been over a month and a half since I posted anything.  I'm terrible, I know.  I have lots of things to share, though, so be on the lookout!