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Blood, Bytes, and Beyond
Insights on Blood Banking, Clinical Informatics, and Medical Education
About
My name is Caitlin Raymond
I'm a hybrid of training in Family Medicine and Pathology, currently focusing on Transfusion Medicine. I write about the blood bank, clinical informatics, and the process of medical education.
What Stewardship Looks Like at 2AM
At 2AM, the hospital feels like a different world. The corridors are dim and quiet. Most of the offices are dark. The cafeteria is...
6 days ago3 min read
15 views
The Invisible Emotional Labor of Lab Medicine
At 3 a.m., the laboratory is quiet—but not still. Centrifuges hum. Blood cultures incubate. Analyzers click methodically. On the clinical...
Apr 173 min read
165 views
Why Doctors Should Tell Better Stories
In medicine, we are trained to reduce. “A 45-year-old man presents with chest pain.” “A febrile 6-year-old with no significant past...
Apr 164 min read
11 views
When the Blood Bank Says “No”: Clinical Judgment in the Face of Urgency
It usually starts with a phone call. A stat request for platelets. A patient with a dropping hemoglobin. A unit needed now —no...
Apr 132 min read
2,136 views
To the Student Who’s Thinking About Medicine While the World Burns
A letter about love, science, and the quiet power of staying human. Dear student, If you are thinking about medicine right now—while the...
Apr 33 min read
27 views
From Learner to Teacher—and Everything I Had to Unlearn
A story about learning to teach while learning everything else In medicine, we spend years learning how to learn—but almost no time...
Mar 304 min read
13 views
When Stem Cells Won’t Budge: The Art and Science of Mobilization
Imagine standing at the threshold of a medical breakthrough—a patient enrolled in a gene therapy protocol, the science ready, the hope...
Mar 234 min read
19 views
An Ode to the Long Road
To the ones who didn’t match — this one’s for you. I. The Experience of Not Matching You logged in. Your heart raced. And then came the...
Mar 233 min read
11 views
The Evolution of Blood Banking: From Leeches to Leukoreduction
It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when the best hope for curing a fever was letting your blood drip into a bowl. Today,...
Mar 225 min read
22 views
Neutrophils to the Rescue? Granulocyte Transfusions Explained – The Science, the Challenges, and the Controversy
When we think about blood components, red blood cells and platelets often steal the spotlight. But nestled within our bloodstream are...
Mar 204 min read
23 views
A Day in the Life of a Transfusion Medicine Pathologist
When most people think of pathology, they imagine a specialist behind a microscope, diagnosing diseases from tissue samples with little...
Mar 94 min read
42 views
Beyond Blood Typing: How Whole Genome Sequencing Could Transform Transfusion Medicine
Introduction Blood transfusion is a cornerstone of modern medicine, ensuring patients receive life-saving blood products tailored to...
Feb 265 min read
20 views
Point-of-Care Testing: Will It Replace Centralized Labs?
Introduction The landscape of diagnostic testing has evolved dramatically over the past few decades. Gone are the days when every lab...
Feb 226 min read
84 views
Harnessing Platelets for Healing: From Blood Clots to Regenerative Medicine
Wound healing is a finely tuned biological process that relies on multiple cellular and molecular mechanisms to restore damaged tissue....
Feb 164 min read
15 views
Platelets in Oncology: Friend, Foe, or Future Therapy?
When we think about platelets, we typically associate them with wound healing and clot formation. However, emerging research has revealed...
Feb 154 min read
37 views
Fighting Infection: Platelets as Allies and Adversaries
Introduction Platelets are widely recognized for their role in hemostasis, but emerging research has revealed their critical function in...
Feb 144 min read
23 views
Platelet Microvesicles: Small Particles, Big Potential
Introduction In the world of transfusion medicine, platelets are indispensable. They stop bleeding, support vascular integrity, and...
Feb 135 min read
51 views
The Myth of the Self-Made Doctor: Why ‘Figure It Out Yourself’ Fails in Medical Training
Medical training is often framed as a journey of relentless personal responsibility. Trainees are expected to learn from manuals, absorb...
Feb 93 min read
44 views
The 'Unsexy' Side of Pathology Informatics: Interoperability and Standardization
When people think of pathology informatics, they often imagine cutting-edge artificial intelligence, whole-slide imaging, or complex...
Feb 23 min read
14 views
Automating Platelet Compatibility Matching: Enhancing Efficiency in Medicine
Here's something I never thought I'd say: I spent the afternoon coding with ChatGPT 4.0. In about 3 hours I was able to turn out an...
Jan 203 min read
49 views
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