Helen Salisbury: Tales of the unexpected

Not long ago, a surgical colleague told me that all the patients attending his outpatient clinic arrive “pre-scoped”—the investigations have been done before the clinical encounter. As a result, he knows exactly what to expect in terms of pathology, although each patient will differ in the way they react and the choices they make.By contrast, I often do not know what my clinic holds in store, even when I know the patients or they have filled in an online form ahead of their consultation (as this is not mandated in our practice, most patients tend not to do so). Until I see the patient, I do not know whether the cough that has been bothering them for a month is a resolving viral infection, bacterial pneumonia, heart failure, or acid reflux—or how worried I should be about lung cancer.Like many GPs, I enjoy the variety and unpredictability of general practice,…
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