The story of the man who could see the invisible

Once upon a time long, long ago there lived a man who could see things that other people simply could not see. He was not born with this skill but cultivated it slowly and continuously with years of focused attention. He worked as a physician in a large hospital and would sometimes have students go with him to see patients. As far as the students were concerned, he could really see the invisible. When he was asked what afflicted a patient, he would share his impressions and then carefully and systematically explicate the chain of observational evidence that lead to his indisputable conclusion. For example, after shaking an elderly man’s hand, he immediately diagnosed chronic kidney disease secondary to diabetes mellitus complicated by anemia, secondary hyperparathyroidism, and a moderate pericardial effusion. Terry’s half-and-half fingernails with beaking (from distal digital reabsorption) implied the renal disease with hyperparathyroidism while excessive atrophy of the interossei and an early Dupuytren’s contracture suggested diabetes mellitus as the cause. His distended neck veins with loss of the “Y” descent reflected impaired right ventricular filling and a large epicardial bulge seen through his tee shirt suggested a pericardial effusion as the culprit. These and other inferences were confirmed in the medical record. Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Physician Health IT Hospital Source Type: blogs