They had no idea why the patient was in the hospital. They decided, "Even though we have no old chart, let us go and examine the patient anyway." All of them went to where the patient was. Every one of them touched the patient.
"Hey, this is atopic dermatitis," said the first doctor who touched his skin, for he was a dermatologist.
"Oh, no! it is acute lumbago," said the second doctor who touched the back, for he was an orthopedic surgeon.
"Oh, no! it is paroxysmal tachycardia," said the third doctor who touched the chest of the patient, for he was a cardiologist.
"It is temporomandibular joint syndrome" said the fourth doctor who touched the jaw of the patient, for he was an otolaryngologist.
"It is spastic colitis," said the fifth doctor who touched the belly of the patient, for he was a gastroenterologist.
"No, it's lacrimal duct obstruction," said the sixth doctor who touched a tear from the eye of the patient, for he was a ophthalmologist.
They began to argue about the patient and every one of them insisted that he was right. It looked like they were getting agitated.
A seventh doctor was passing by and she saw this. She stopped and asked them, "What is the matter?" They said, "We cannot agree on the patient's diagnosis." Each one of them told what he thought the patient had.
The seventh doctor took a good look at the patient and said, "I know this man. This is Joe, and he is having an acute stress reaction because he just lost his job and his wife is being treated for breast cancer." And she shook his hand, offered some reassurance and made Joe feel better, for she was his family doctor.
Based on a well known story about an elephant.
"Oh, no! it is paroxysmal tachycardia," said the third doctor who touched the chest of the patient, for he was a cardiologist.
"It is temporomandibular joint syndrome" said the fourth doctor who touched the jaw of the patient, for he was an otolaryngologist.
"It is spastic colitis," said the fifth doctor who touched the belly of the patient, for he was a gastroenterologist.
"No, it's lacrimal duct obstruction," said the sixth doctor who touched a tear from the eye of the patient, for he was a ophthalmologist.
They began to argue about the patient and every one of them insisted that he was right. It looked like they were getting agitated.
A seventh doctor was passing by and she saw this. She stopped and asked them, "What is the matter?" They said, "We cannot agree on the patient's diagnosis." Each one of them told what he thought the patient had.
The seventh doctor took a good look at the patient and said, "I know this man. This is Joe, and he is having an acute stress reaction because he just lost his job and his wife is being treated for breast cancer." And she shook his hand, offered some reassurance and made Joe feel better, for she was his family doctor.
Based on a well known story about an elephant.
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