Monday, May 08, 2006

acog


I'm spending a couple of days scouting for story ideas at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' annual clinical meeting. This morning I had a few minutes free, so I wandered through the exhibition hall. The booths are giant monuments to swag - note the edifice Wyeth built, and the small mob of people waiting to get their personalized engraved pens. (The mob grew rapidly - this was right after the hall opened.)

I wandered up and down the aisles eying the free drug samples, tote bags, and vast selection of pens. Personalization seemed to be big. In addition to the Wyeth pens, I saw personalized prescription pads and personalized portfolios on offer. I don't think they would give me a prescription pad. Well, really, I hope they wouldn't. Seeing as how I'm not a doctor.

I also saw tons of devices - cases of speculums, a wide variety of forceps, and many machines I could not identify. I imagine the perky young sales people would have been happy to explain, but those perky sales people make me nervous.

3 comments:

J.Po said...

I wonder if that's how CrazyTomCruise got a sonogram. Did you know that the state of California is not trying to ban the sale of sonograms to non-doctors because of concern around over-use by laypeople and potential damage to fetuses?

MonkeyMom said...

I'm still stuck over the idea of an engraved speculum. Talk about nipping your dating life in the bud... Wow.

Annie said...

oooh, cases of speculums. that's a horrific thought.

And yes, I also wonder about crazytomcruise and his stupid sonogram. what a psycho. he's probably triggered massive premature cell death in his child.