Yeah for Alan! He successfully defended his dissertation on Monday at Washington University in St. Louis. I like that terminology--defending your dissertation. He's been working on that for many years now. I know that I probably wouldn't have been able to pursue medicine for so many years. Medicine is a long haul.
There was an interesting article in the New Yorker last week about the need for practice to become a doctor, and the difficulty of providing the best health care for every patient while still providing residents with enough practice on medical procedures. Basically, the point was that health care is not equal for all patients, and that it has a lot to do with who you know. I'm glad half my classmates from school are doctors. Hopefully I won't have a resident checking me out when I break a hip when I'm 65.
I do mini defenses every day at the office. At least a few times a day, I have to defend my ideas. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose.