Man: Do you have a CAT scan machine here?
Me: (stares at man)
Man: Seriously. Do you have a CAT scan machine?
Me: Yes, sir, this is a modern urban hospital. We have a CT scanner here.
Man: OK. How do I get one?
Me: A doctor has to order the test.
Man: Oh. So I can't just sign up for one?
Me: No.
Man: Are they expensive?
Me: They're not cheap. Do you have any medical problems that you'd like to discuss?
Man: No. I just wanted to see what my brain looks like. Thanks anyway! (gets up and leaves)
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11 comments:
Aside from the fact that I'd go for MRI over a CAT for "seeing what my brain looks like" (and not knowing if you had the machine.)...
I'm sorta down with it.
But then I've got a set of MRI pics, complete with the "this part of your brain isn't normal" bit :)
Well that should answer his inquiry. You couldn't see his brain but you'd hear the deep echos.
Pretty sure there's a vapid empty blackness where a brain should have been.
I'd kind of like to see a MRI of my brain. :D
Enjoyed reading some of your posts. Will be back to read some more, I am sure! :-) Cheers, Julie
HAHA! that's ballsy, i like it.
I got a CT of my chest a couple days ago that showed a 4.2 cm ascending aortic aneurysm. I'm pissed that no one will let me look at it myself. I bet it looks cool.
"Head CT to rule-in brain"
Offer him a hand mirror and a hammer. It's sort of in the same vein as telling EMS 'Hey, ortho's got beds open tonight, go drive on the sidewalk and drum them up some business'. Either he'll leave or you'll get to do the CT anyway.
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From a patient point of view, you can kind of understand where he's coming from. I mean, there are these services where you can get a whole body scan without a doctor's order. How does a patient know that's not how a hospital/ER runs?
And sometimes the nurses aren't the best at explaining stuff. I had a patient come in recently with notes from their specialist in another town to get a blood transfusion. My nurse just said she couldn't do it for legal reasons and that we needed an order from their local doctor. This pissed them off, but after I explained to them that if something were to go wrong, their out of town doctor wouldn't be around to help them, but their local doc would, and it was a patient safety issue, then they understood. And I was able to contact local doc and get the orders.
At least he didn't check in...
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