An impending sense of doom wrt. job security, because apparently this engages readers of the magazine this was published in.

It reminded me a lot of some of the stories told by that poor fellow currently blogging his way through late-stage neck cancer, and whose posts lately have often reached the front page - specifically, it reminded me of his posts that talk in detail of what it's been like for him and his partner trying to negotiate the modern medical industry, and which would read like something out of Terry Gilliam's most darkly comedic fever dreams were it not for the literally life-and-death import of their subject matter.

I doubt anything like that was the author's intent, but who cares? Theirs is the first, not the last, of the hands which shape the text.

The author is an anesthesiologist. I don’t think we’re going to see the transplant surgeons writing with such concern any time soon.

Yeah that’s really weird. On the one hand, certain precision operations are already carried out by robots guided by surgeons on a computer screen, and experienced surgeons in certain domains can even oversee multiple robotic operations simultaneously.[1] On the other hand, unless you’re willing to put up with failed organ retrievals to save a little bit of money, I can’t imagine humans out of the loop any time soon.

[1] Source: A family member recently retired after working in the OR for more than three decades.

Yeah it was jarring — wouldn’t be surprised if the first draft didn’t contain it at all, and the editor forced it in there so the piece would have a “hook” to current events.