1. Eat standing up, while walking or while charting on patients
2. Take expired medication (we know that expiration date is phony)
3. Work hard-core, even when sick
4. Don’t get regular check-ups
5. Cannot watch doctor TV shows (House is especially intolerable)
6. Freely discuss body functions at dinner. Nothing is off limits
7. Silently diagnose medical conditions on strangers. No lump or rash goes unnoticed.
8. Combine vacations with work
9. When we shake hands, think “Oh, that’s a nice vein”
10. When our child is hemorrhaging, we can fix anything with steri-strips
11. Seldom use antibiotics on ourselves or family
12. Listen to lectures and medical information while commuting
13. Take suitcases full of journals to catch up on when on vacation
14. Carry stethoscope, and full medical supplies in our trunk because “you never know”
15. Seldom take vitamins or supplements
I’m sure I’ll hear from my nurse and doctor readers, or spouses of medical people if I got something wrong.
This post originally appeared at Everything Health. Toni Brayer, MD, FACP, is an ACP Internist editorial board member who blogs at EverythingHealth, designed to address the rapid changes in science, medicine, health and healing in the 21st Century.
