Oh yea!

Today, I was reminded why I went into medicine, and it wasn't anything that I got out of a book. I was talking with a patient and said something about ruling out MI and checking this out and that and how I thought the patient's symptoms were noncardiac. He looked at me and said, "That's easy for you to say."

My reply: "It is easy to say. Would you like me to say it again?" We both broke out into laughter. That's medicine for me, being with people when they've got problems and not offering cures but offering help, whether it's medication or just talking to someone. It's talking about the football game with a guy who has terminal pancreatic cancer. It's joking with a patient about serious medical conditions.

I've often been told that I have excellent rapport with patients, and it's an easy skill to possess. Step one: remember that you're treating patients and not diseases. done.