Note to self: Should I have surgery, check beforehand to make sure my surgeon is paying full and undivided attention to my operation and not his stupid Twitter client! In my humble opinion, this is nothing short of absurd and represents non-standard medical care!

Wake up everyone, and pay attention! Stop paying partial attention as you fragment and compartmentalize your mind pretending to be more efficient and effective. The research on this is now pretty clear. You can't do it!

Surgeons have found a new way to send updates to other doctors, medical students, and the public during surgery -by using the social networking site Twitter! Last week, doctors at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit “Tweeted” an operation to remove a tumor from a kidney.

Dr. Craig Rogers, the lead surgeon in the Henry Ford surgery, said the impetus for his Twittering was to let people know that a tumor can be removed without taking the entire kidney.

“We’re trying to use this as a way to get the word out,” Rogers said.

Observers say Twittering about a procedure is a natural outgrowth of the social networking media revolution.

“Doing this removes a real communication barrier. It helps make something scary much more comprehendable,” said Christopher Parks, co-founder of the Web site changehealthcare.com. “It brings us closer together and makes us more engaged.”

[From Twittering Surgery]

I just saw a wonderful blog post title: Multitasking is the fastest way to mediocrity. Hmmm... Just something to ponder!