Osler Inspiration
I read a nice commentary in The Consultant magazine on William Osler MD. It is called the Inspirational Teacher and can be found here. There were some other nice nuggets in the piece so I highly recommend you take a look at it. It may change you just a little but unfortunately, it won’t last long in this system. What would Osler say if he was alive today? Here are some quotes I think he would proclaim:
- What is an insurance company and why are they telling me what the f&ck to do?
- Listen to the patient, he is telling you the diagnosis, and that is why I hate the God damn internet.
Give me some of your examples!
Medicare is the old man’s friend. Obamacare is pneumonia
A lumpy spleen is a prior authorization
If you hear hoofbeats in the street don’t think of WebMD
A copay a day is the American way
Why would you think you have wasted my time?
When you came in to our Emergency Department, you were afraid you had a life-threatening condition.
I have evaluated you, and I can confidently tell you that you don’t have a medical emergency today.
I consider it a privilege to be able to confidently and correctly tell you that you don’t have a serious or emergency condition, and you don’t have to be afraid! That beats giving bad news any day!
He would say louder than ever that “longevity is a vascular question.” I don’t know when he origninally said this, but it was way way before cardiovascular disease was the #1 killer on the planet. Very prescient observation, courtesy of autospy study, no doubt.
What do you mean you’ve worked 12 hours and by law have to go to sleep, we’ve just cross-clamped this ruptured aorta!