Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Great doctors

Today I figured out the secret to being a great doctor.  The trick is to run late.

I noticed that some doctors always seemed to be running late.  They'd start on time, but as the day progressed they would get further and further behind.  After I'd spent some time watching them do their thang, I realized that they wrote excellent notes on their consultations.  The reason they were able to do this is because they actually listened to what the patient's concerns were.  Gasp!

And some things that the patient were worried about, that weren't really relevant to the problem that the consult was about, were nevertheless entered into the notes as well.  It's almost as if the doctor is actually primarily concerned with helping the patient, rather than churning through a long appointment list.  Gasp!

I have dedicated myself to being a great doctor.  Fortunately I am already incredibly slow at running consults.  What a relief!  This means I am already performing at an advanced level.  Therefore my exams in 4 or 5 months are going to be a pushover.  I'm spending tomorrow in bed.

[p.s. new poll up - vote now or feel my wrath]

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is a study that tells that patients are more likely comfortable to men and women in medical scrubs who sits and listens to them than those doctors who talk with them while standing. Anyway great post eh.:)

Anonymous said...

I've always wondered why, if Doctors know they always run late, they dont make each appointment allocation slightly longer so they stay on time. I hate that I can make an appointment and rock up 30 min late but still be 'early' :)

PTR said...

diseaseoftheweek: I have always assumed that it's because they are boundless optimists, but I'm coming to the point of view that it's simply that unless you're waiting, they're waiting, and they wouldn't be able to charge you for that.