A brief format to be used when consulting with patients

By Glenn Colquhoun, Playing God: Poems about medicine (2002)

The patient will talk.

The doctor will talk.

The doctor will listen while
the patient is talking.

The patient will listen while
the doctor is talking.

The patient will think that the doctor
knows what the doctor is talking about.

The doctor will think that the patient
knows what the patient is talking about.

The patient will think that the doctor
knows what the patient is talking about.

The doctor will think that the patient
knows what the doctor is talking about.

The doctor will be sure.
The patient will be sure.

The patient will be sure.
The doctor will be sure.

Shouldn’t hurt a bit, should it?

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Dr Kate

I am a GP in Benbecula, with many interests including patient safety, human factors, and data. I also enjoy cooking, gardening and knitting.

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