Patients Diagnose Themselves

Believe it or not, patients will usually just flat out tell you what is wrong with them if you give them enough time. I've had several tell rambling stories until they finally just break down and blurt out something like,"I've got an ulcer!" Problem solved. We can move on now. Others are not quite so obvious. However, twenty minutes of a patient describing their problem in depth will get you much farther than twenty minutes of a doctor peppering a patient with random yes/no questions. Treat the patient like an artist painting you a picture. No need to make your own sketch when Picasso is working on Mona Lisa right in front of you.