Be Careful What You Wish For

I've had annoying patients in the past but this one was definitely one of the best of the worst...

She was a teacher In her late 40s or early 50s she came in when the OPD was just about closing. We proceded to take her history and she suddenly snapped that would we just talk and talk, weren't we supposed to examine her instead of interview her?

The blood shot up to my face so fast it hurt. I kept my voice in check but my eyes may have said things differently. Her complaint centered on her throat but then everything was normal in appearance.

To comply with her request to "examine" her, endoscopy of her throat was suggested and so was a CAT scan. She balked at the cost of these examinations.

I would have wanted nothing more than to snap back at her, "ha! didn't you just refuse to give us more info and demand we just examine you? Since you have volunteered so little information, we have no choice but to request several procedures since you appear normal on PE and now you refuse because you realize you can't afford it!"

But I didn't.