Somehow we are seeing more females and males in the hospital rather than women and men…. I hope you catch my drift. There is a subtle difference between the two. These days I come across a lot of History and Physical (H &P) which refers to the patients as 54 year old female or 43 year old male. I find it a little peculiar. It strips vibrance off their personality. There is no denying the fact that they are male and female but so are electric connectors and dogs.
I was rounding once with an intern and he was presenting a case, he said “This is a 54 year old male who presents ...” I stopped him in the middle and added “well he looks like a man to me”.
My point is; it is important to put things in context. If you keep on referring to your patients as male and female; you may loose the point that we are not treating a thing but we have some one’s father, brother or sister. It makes it personal.
Maybe it is a frivolous thought, but sometimes it is the small prints which matter the most.
About the picture: I took this picture in a small village in Pakistan, this lady shied away as soon as she realized I was taking her picture which embarrassed me a little.
2 comments:
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Interesting... never thought it that way
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