Monday 14 July 2008

How Karaoke Saves Lives

Tracy wrote the other day that her daughter is a budding karaoke queen. At the time my view was that this wasn't a particularly ambitious career aspiration, but on the Emilia Show tonight was a report about a Thai Medical School.

They are using karaoke to teach their students about cardiac medicine with such hits as "Heart Failure". Apparently the catchy lyrics make it easier for them to memorise all the gory details.

"Baby, You're breaking my heart...
with your cold, sharp scalpel"


It's not an ideal solution. You can just imagine the scene in the operating theatre when someone forgets exactly where on the left ventricle they need to make the incision, or do some defragging, or whatever. So all of the medics break out into song. Of course, they can't remember which song the vital piece of information was in, so they have to treat the (fortunately anaesthetised) patient to their entire reportoire...

This idea is not new. For decades, orthopaedic surgeons have been singing "Dem Bones" when they need to remember what they should reattach the hip bone to.

"The Knee bone's connected to the Neck bone"

So I think that Tracy ought to think about all the lives that'll be saved if she gets a karaoke machine for Emma, who is clearly a budding heart surgeon. Then all she'll need to do is learn to speak Thai...

29 comments:

Bee said...

Ha ha! I think her hubs is a surgeon!

OZ is an Orthopod too. I've had to listen to him and Tin Man talk about what songs they're gonna load in the iPod for the next day's surgery. Now I know why.

Brian o vretanos said...

Bee:

Yes, Emma has probably inherited her talent.

I must look out for "101 Easy to Play Operating Theatre Hits" next time I'm buying piano music...

Jean Knee said...

well, how bout that.

Brian o vretanos said...

Hello, Jean Knee.

Brian o vretanos said...

You'll have to get one for Lean

Jean Knee said...

I'm sure her school already has it.
along with all that old math shenanigans

Jean Knee said...

my mom's here and so far I haven't had to get out my shirt :)

Dan said...

Hey I learned my ABC's with that ABC song.
I'll sing it for you:

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXY AND Z

Dan said...

Hope all of you liked my singing.

Jean Knee said...

loved it Dan!

Tracy Rambles On And On said...

Dan-I loved your singing. I imagined you on your tiny little pony singing it cowboy style. :)

Brian- If karoke can lead to something like Em being a heart surgeon I might have to put more thought into it.
But Jean Knee says that if I buy one she's gonna come over to my house and slap me.
What to do, what do to?

Tracy Rambles On And On said...

Shoot, I was 11th and didn't know it.
Well belated 11th.

And now 12th.

Anonymous said...

They taught us the order of the US presidents via song in 8th grade. We had to sing it every morning.

I always wondered what use it would serve me later in life, but
I have actually won 10 dollars (two $5 bets)because I could name all the presidents in order.

(p.s. Does this mean School house rock is coming out with a new medical set?)

Anonymous said...

Okay, apparently I've been gone to damn long because I can't even insert a text properly. GUH.

www.school-house-rock.com

Brian o vretanos said...

Jean Knee:

Maybe you should take your mum to a karaoke night.

Dan:

You get full marks. It obviously worked as a learning technique.

Tracy:

I wouldn't worry. With the karaoke blaring out, Jean Knee won't go near your house. It'll keep burglars away as well.

Chris:

I remember a song that taught people how to spell Constantinople, which is possibly more useful than knowing the Presidents, though I've never been to the place, and no-one has ever offered me money for my amazing spelling ability.

A $14 video to get $10 doesn't sound like a great investment.

Bee said...

I think Dan was a little off key but you know what? That's him in real life so we're all good.

Bee said...

and BWAHAHAHAHA TO TRACY PICTURING DAN ON A PONY SINGING!!

Jean Knee said...

mom is still being nice--I hope the world isn't coming to an end

Brian o vretanos said...

Bee:

Do you know any educational songs?

Jean Knee:

Whether it is or it isn't, enjoy it while it lasts...

Bee said...

No, all the songs I know envolve brutality.

LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR!
LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR!
LET THE BODIES HIT THE-

FLOARRRRRRRRREE

You don't need musical talent to sing that song.

Brian o vretanos said...

Bee:

Apparently you don't ;-)

It was audible this side of the Atlantic...

Bee said...

Okay Brian, I'll sing another one for you. It's a soft diddy by Marilyn Manson.

Hey you, what do you see?
Something beautiful, something free?

Hey you, are you trying to be mean?
If you live with apes man, it's hard to be clean

The beautiful people
The beautiful People!


I didn't quote more becuase there are a lot o swears...

Brian o vretanos said...

Bee:

That was lovely. There's nothing like a romantic ballad, and that was nothing like a romantic ballad.

I think. I wasn't paying too much attention as I was busy watching Emilia.

Brian o vretanos said...

It's just occurred to me that I know two educational songs. Being a Tom Lehrer fan, I learnt the element song, and the "New Math" thing that Jean Knee was on about:

You can't take three from two,
Two is less than three,
So you look at the four in the tens place.
Now that's really four tens,
So you make it three tens,
Regroup, and you change a ten to ten ones,
And you add them to the two and get twelve,
And you take away three, that's nine.
Is that clear?

Dan said...

Tracy
PONY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't talk about my horse breast like that or I'll kick you in the nuts !

Bee said...

Isn't today Wednesday? I'm waiting for the wordy words that make me click Wikitionary to figure out what they mean.

Brian o vretanos said...

Bee:

Give me a chance...

Done.

Manager Mom said...

I have been wary of prescribing karaoke "off-label" but now that I know its powers can be used for good as well as evil, I'm going to push it hard!

Brian o vretanos said...

MM:

Excellent. And corporate training people need to add it to their list of "learning styles".