Mistakes

Hi,

Awkward moment with a patient on Friday. He had come in with a strange looking rash on his hands and face. It was strange looking and I wasn't too sure what it was, and told him it might be a non-specific viral rash and I wanted to get one of my seniors to look at it. He replied that he thought it was hand, foot and mouth disease after searching on the internet. I assured him that this was rare in adults, and went off to ask one of the GP partners to have a look. 

A cursory glance later, the GP told the patient that it was definitely hand, foot and mouth, a viral infection which will resolve itself, and isn't anything to worry about and left. The patient gave me a look of scorn and then followed the partner out of the door

I guess that makes us 1-1 Dr Google...

Nuclear war

Hi,

Today I saw a lady who had become obsessed with the fear that we might have a nuclear holocaust this year. What do you do with this situation? I tried to explain that it is unlikely, but I couldn't say that it certainly won't happen. What with all these problems in Ukraine and the Middle East, she told me that perhaps I should be more worried and left.

Perhaps she is right!

Fertility

Hi,

Really tough consultation today. A 44 year old lady had been coming to our practice for a few years trying to get pregnant. She had got a text asking her to make an appointment with a doctor about her recent blood test results, and came in to see me

Due to her age, she wasn't eligible for NHS assisted contraception during the last few years, and had been in and out of the surgery getting blood tests, trying to stop smoking and reduce her weight in order to improve her fertility. The blood results she had come in to hear about from me showed that she was going through the menopause and couldn't have children now. 

This was terrible news to break to her, as she really wanted a child. I think she had been in denial for some time, though, as she hadn't had a period in about 6 months. I spent over an hour talking with her while she alternated between crying and shouting at me - she felt that we had let her down and let her time run out. Being exposed to that raw emotion was scary, and I was aware that towards the end I had 5 people waiting to see me in the waiting room who could hear all the shouting and sobbing coming from the room. 

Being a GP can be emotionally draining, especially when you are questioning whether your team may be in the wrong...

CBBC skills

Hi,

On Friday one of my patients was a 3 year old kid who had come in with an ear infection. After having a chat with the parents and a playful examination of the kid I reassured them and went to send them home. The mum was really impressed - she told me that her child was usually really shy of the doctors and wouldn't let them examine hum at all.

For a moment, I was secretly smug. I am the child whisperer! She quickly deflated my bubble and explained that it was probably because I looked like one of the 'silly CBBC presenters' and wasn't scary like those 'other older strict doctors'...

Well, as long as the kid doesn't vomit on me, I will take it...

Dr google

Hi,

A patient came in today with calf pain he had had for a week after falling off of his bike. After a google to come up with the possible causes for this, he was adamant that he had acute compartment syndrome. This is a medical emergency where the trauma to the limb causes so much swelling it cuts off the blood supply, meaning the tissue becomes more damaged and inflamed due to to the lack of blood. A vicious circle. His leg looked completely normal.

It took me a very long time to try and convince him that Dr google was not in an ideal position to assess his leg, and if he did have acute compartment syndrome his leg would have destroyed itself by now. After 30 minutes of my time he left to try some paracetamol and rest.