Mea sententia

It’s frustrating when they won’t let you be a playwright, but then complain when you become a critic.

Lisl was very good high school skier but seemed not to have the race results she was capable of and everyone expected.  

In practice, it was clear she had great technique and a good motor, and could stay at the front without difficulty. In races, however, she would set out looking fantastic but come in near the end of the pack, beaten by skiers with much less ability than she, and seemed happy with her race.  It never seemed to bother her.  In fact, she never complained and was always one of the happiest in the van on the way home.b

A physician friend commented recently that he was being ‘meeting-ed to death’ and wondered if it was intentional. It turns out, he was on to something.

Chart review is one of my occasional clinical responsibilities.  The charts I see overwhelmingly document good quality medical care. Last week I saw a chart that gave me pause. 

You can’t make this stuff up. I pulled into our local BJ’s gas station on a recent rainy morning. It was quite busy and I looked around for the shortest line to join, Seeing a woman in her early 20s who appeared to be finished fueling as she re-holstered the nozzle in the pump and returned to her car, I pulled in behind her, expecting to promptly be able to pull up and buy gas.  A car pulled in behind me, so I was now committed.

A friend recently explained why he retired from a long and rewarding career in medicine and medical education, despite still loving his one-on-one interactions with patients. 

Words of wisdom for those who wish to innovate.

Workplace wellness and chronic disease management programs (now encouraged by the ACA) are quite common, but being a $6 billion dollar industry doesn't make them useful. Recent personal experience with one such program has led me to look more closely at the topic.

Was the surgeon a princess, complaining about a pea under her mattress? Or am I a sheeple, accepting a woefully inadequate system? What do you think?

Why does the ‘chief complaint’ make me think about  pancakes and fig newtons? The chief complaint may just be an admission ticket.