“T’was hiding behind those words!
A little pain and pricking like swords!
A complex sign here with a simple halitosis!
Ah! the effort it takes to reach a diagnosis!”
The other day a Patient came to see me after some years and I recognized him as an ex constable and that his son was studying in the engineering college! He was so happy! The reason why I actually remember him was because he had a severe on table bleed for a neck surgery and we had a tough time controlling the same! In all probability it was because of his anti platelet medication which he did not stop as instructed.
Of course it was controlled and then it caused some additional days of stay in the hospital and then his son had rushed from his college to meet him out in the Operation theatre waiting room!
Do you like it when your doctor recognizes you? It may not be a good thing though! Read on!…
So when a Doctor, especially surgeon recognizes you, more often than not it may be a special case or a complication! Of course there are exceptions but there is no way you would ever forget the cases which failed or did not meet your or the Patient’s expectations!
One of my Professor in medical college was so well known for his people skills and everyone used to marvel at his memory recall of patients! That too it was the medical department and a busy one! He used to mention how in the corner of the Op sheet he would draw a small plane which indicated that someone from the Patient’s family used to live abroad! Then we realised he used to use these small tricks to find familiarity with the patients!
Most of the times when a doctor recognises an old patient, half of the work is done! When we ask stuff like how is the work in your bank or how’s the teaching job; it gives them confidence and ease! And a comfortable and happy patient will most of the time get better IN SPITE of your treatment!
Of course now there are some doctors who either by memory or by observation can tell so many things about the patient that it feels magical!
In fact if you see the inspiration of Sherlock Holmes, probably the most famous detective in the fiction world; You would realise that the author Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a doctor himself! He had repeatedly though mentioned that he was inspired by another doctor who used to enthrall everyone by his powers of observations to tell stuff about patient’s even without asking them a single question!
The name of the doctor will ring a Bell since his name was Dr Joseph Bell!
In his instruction, Joseph Bell emphasized the importance of close observation in making a diagnosis. To illustrate this, he would often pick a stranger, and by observing him, deduce his occupation and recent activities. These skills caused him to be considered a pioneer in forensic science, at a time when science was not yet widely used in criminal investigation.
He served as personal surgeon to Queen Victoria whenever she visited Scotland. He also published several medical textbooks. Bell wrote the book Manual of the Operations of Surgery!
According to Irving Wallace (in an essay originally in his book The Fabulous Originals but later republished and updated in his collection The Sunday Gentleman), Bell was involved in several police investigations, mostly in Scotland, such as the Ardlamont mystery of 1893, usually with forensic expert Professor Henry Littlejohn. Bell also gave his analysis of the Ripper murders to Scotland Yard!
Even otherwise, if you think about it; Doctors are like detectives or sleuths who have to use their skills and power to detect what’s wrong give the proper treatment! The moment they listen to the history, a string of diagnosis would run through their minds which would be narrowed down with the examinations and tests in that order! Ideally a good doctor must be able to diagnose and treat with the most minimum of tests and the least number of medication!
No wonder some of the most famous authors who have written thrillers and stuff about complex emotions and technology are doctors! The list apart from Conan Doyle is rather long and includes Robin Cook, Michael Crichton, A J Cronin and even Khaled Hosseini! Now that is an amazing combination of brain and wit! A combination of wit and brawn though is Birthday Celebrity John Cena!
Now pray that your doctor does not recognize you and sleep!
Shubh Ratri!
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