Watch out for the turkeys……..

Andrew Old
Sep 3, 2018 · 3 min read

This week was my first in my new role at Stanford’s Clinical Excellence Research Center (CERC). As expected it mostly involved orientation, IT (getting my laptop “Stanford Secure”) and meeting new people. I suspect it will be the first and last orientation I ever undergo that involves a serious safety briefing about wild turkeys!

CERC is on a hill, just off the main Stanford Campus. It’s surrounded by parkland and as such has a lot of wildlife. It is not uncommon for deer to come walking past the window; there is a coyote who apparently howls whenever he hears emergency sirens; and there are occasional rattlesnakes and mountain lions. Apparently the most dangerous creatures to watch out for however are the wild turkeys. The reason the turkeys are the ones to watch is that unlike the others who will largely try and stay out of your way, the turkeys are aggressive and hunt in packs. They have been described as like big black swans on amphetamines… Apparently there was an incident a couple of years ago where a group of about eight of them cornered a group of staff in the carpark with one of them needing to phone for assistance! They could have been pulling my leg of course — I’m yet to see one of these turkeys — but the staff do take ‘turkey sticks’ when they go walking on the hill so who knows…

Wildlife aside, the team here are fantastic. Both welcoming and talented, and I have the additional good fortune to be starting at the same time as a cohort of ‘Design Fellows’ who have an intro bootcamp organised which involves daily lectures from eminent US healthcare leaders. Kevin Johnson, a paediatrician and CIO at Vanderbilt, the highlight so far.

Another note on bureaucracy

This week I had another brush with US Federal bureaucracy. This time applying for a social security card. Although the total experience was quicker than my morning at the DMV, it was still a wait of an hour and a half with lots of opportunities for improvement. One immediate opportunity was obvious as I people watched while waiting my turn. Many of the people who visit social security offices have mobility issues through advanced age, disease or other disabilities. The waiting rooms do not cater for them at all well, with the chairs those terrible low plastic buckets (no photography allowed!) without arms, making them very hard to get in and out of. Upgrading the chairs would go a long way to improving peoples experience.

On the home front

Family life is settling into a routine with the kids enjoying school (mostly) and Katya having been roped into being a room parent for Maia’s second grade class. We continue to explore our local environment with trips to various parks, beaches, museums and the like. Today we visited the originally named Half Moon Bay and walked part of the coastal trail. Tomorrow morning we’re getting up early (or at least that’s the plan) to “hike the Dish”, a local favourite. We’ve also already hosted two separate visits from friends and family which has been great to keep connected with home.

Next steps

A short week next week with the Labor Day holiday on Monday and then my first meetings at my other placement, the Social Interventions Research & Evaluation Network (SIREN) at UCSF on Wednesday. Then it’s off to New York for four days of Harkness Orientation the following week. So far, so good!

Andrew Old

Written by

Public Health Physician | Father of 3 | Chief of Strategy @Akld_DHB | Harkness Fellow | Improving health, wellbeing and care through #partnership #codesign

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade