Medical etiquette: The empire stirkes back
Editor - It was a pleasure to find my
specialty exposed (old radiology joke) in the
May issue. 1 David McAllister is correct. We
are trained to spot medical students in the
radiology meetings.
One interesting wrinkle that he did not
mention is the "Two grade Rule." This is a
clever ruse designed to get a covert message
across in a devilishly underhand way. It's
breathtakingly simple. Cautionary advice,
barbs, bitchy one liners, and the inevitable
bon mots are sallied with this ingenious
advice. Essentially, the target is identified,
and two grades are subtracted, thus: "Now,
what the students must not forget in future,"
is a reminder to the senior house officers
(SHOs). Suggestions directed towards our
consultant colleagues are thus addressed to
the SHOs. Consequently, although justice is
served, all but the cognoscenti remain blissfully unaware of the true target.
Some phrases that might help the
unwary traveller in our gentle darkened
world are listed below. FIe don't like you to
"order x rays," we prefer you to "request
examinations." Nitpicky, I know, but we are
radiologists, for crying out loud. Other tourist
information would include knowing that in
ultrasound we talk about "echogenicity," in
computed tomography about "attenuation,"
and in magnetic resonance imaging about
"signal." On the other hand, there's nothing
we enjoymore after a few madrigals and a dry
sherry around the viewing box, than telling
the one about the orthopod who thought
that there was "a patchy echogenic filling
defect in the left lung thingy on the x ray film."
And, as for the dreaded, "While you're there,
you couldn't do a couple of extra cuts
through the brain/neck/chest/curtain
fabric/ departmental library . . ." Strewth,
don't get me started on that. Now, you, yes,
you at the back . . .
Barry Kelly, consultant radiologist, Royal victoria hospital, Belfast
Email: barry.kelly@royalhospitals.ni.nhs.uk
studentBMJ 2001;09:171-216 June ISSN 0966-6494
- McAllister D. A guide to medical etiquette: radiology. studentBMj 2001;9:159.
