Dr. Cranquis' Mumbled Gripes

I'm an American physician who works in an Urgent Care clinic. I see lots of stupid or funny things that people do with-and-to their health. I cope by mumbling under my breath (and then posting about it on this pseudonymous blog). Thought you might be interested.

(Disclaimer: Questions related to medical topics will be answered to the best of Dr. Cranquis' (and Google's) knowledge, but the internet-delivered wisdom on this blog CAN NOT AND SHOULD NOT SUBSTITUTE for your Real-Life Doctor's personal attention + examination, and your own common sense too! If you think you're having a medical emergency, hang up and go email 911. The author of this blog takes no responsibility for any medical, relationship, scholastic, financial, or other decisions you may make based on information found in this blog.)

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Can you please tell all your fellow students something for me? Tell them to look at their patients when they’re talking to them. A lot of us old folks have trouble hearing, and it’s even harder when we can’t see your mouth move. Plus it’s rude to talk to someone and look in the other direction. Oh, and if you take their hearing aids out, please put them back in.

My grandmother.

Sounds like common sense, but a lot of people fail on this. Your patients can’t follow your advice if they never heard it to begin with.

(via wayfaringmd)

Related to this, a neat trick I learned somewhere: if your patient is hard of hearing, but doesn’t have hearing aids with them, let them use your stethoscope as a hearing device! They wear it in their ears, you talk quietly into the other end — PRESTO, temporary solution!