Things you don't want to hear while interviewing a new patient:
1. "Oh, I must have forgotten to write that down."
2. "My neighbor swears by it so I started last year."
3. "My father? Uh, he died young."
4. "I like it when you return my calls promptly."
5. "I know - no one ever believes me. But, here - I'll show you."
6. "I want you to have these handouts I found on the internet."
7. "My son wants you to call him - he worries about me."
8. "That's my wife, Doc - not my mother."
9. "You look cute in that shirt and tie."
10. "This is the first time I've left my house since 1956."*
*true story; a patient I saw four years ago. I won't say any more since no one would believe me anyway...
More like this
Due to work stuff, I'm very busy this week, and I don't have time to write a detailed
pathological language post, so I chose something that doesn't take a lot of explanation, but
While browser over at programming.reddit.com, I came across something simultaneously hideous and amazing.
I saw it at Julie's.
"American Music," the Violent Femmes
"California Stars," Billy Bragg and Wilco
"The City of New Orleans," Arlo Guthrie
"Song to Woody," Bob Dylan
"The Body of an American," the Pogues
I love the list! All true.
I once had a veteran who hadn't seen a doctor since his induction in the Korean War. He came for a cold or something. He had a huge neck mass. I asked him, "How long has that been there?" and he replied, "How long has what been there?"