Sunday, October 10, 2010

Improvisation fail

Being typecast as Batman was ultimately damaging to my career.
You know, sometimes I sit back and think about this blog and it surprises me.  I can't believe you people come here and read this stuff.  Maybe you just look at it for the pictures...

Anyway, the other day I was sitting in with a GP who was running pretty late.  He got up to go and get the next patient and gave me a quick rundown on her problem list.  Somehow, probably because he was already so late, I got the impression that he wasn't going to get me to talk to her, plus I was very tired and was doing that thing where I clench my jaw so hard so avoid openly yawning that my teeth crumble into chalky dust inside my mouth, so I just tuned out and went to La-La Land while he was still speaking.  So the whole problem list sounded to me something like this: "So she's been out of hospital for three days and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah".

He left the room, came back in with the patient and then, to my horror, said to me, "Why don't you review Mrs Kafoops for me?"  I had no idea what to do.  He'd mentioned that she was garrulous, so I threw the dice and went generic.

PTR
So how have you been?

Mrs Kafoops
Oh pretty good thanks.

PTR
And how have your... symptoms... been?

Mrs Kafoops
Much better I suppose.  Yes.

PTR
Excellent.  Yes.  What sort of changes have you noticed?

Mrs Kafoops
Well I'm just better all over I think.

PTR
Good.  Good.  ... Good.  And how are you finding your treatment?

Mrs Kafoops
No problems at all.

PTR
Good.  Any side effects?  That you might not have been expecting or that you don't like?

Mrs Kafoops
No.

PTR
Gooooooood...  Goooooooood.  

It went on like for what seemed like hours but surely was only minutes.  It was agony - she was far from talkative and I still had no idea what was actually wrong with her.  Eventually I cracked and turned to the GP and said, "I'm not really sure where to go from here".  He must have been on to me because he just said, "What other questions might you want to ask someone with depression?"

Aha!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your blog PTR, I read it because it brings me much joy and happiness knowing there are others out there equally as clueless as myself.

All the best with fatherhood.