Common sense
February 8, 2010 at 20:27 4 comments
Excerpt from a teaching round with a medical student today:
Me: What is the difference between a hallucination and a delusion?
Student: Er…
Me: OK. Define a hallucination.
Student: A… sensory perception not based in reality…?
Me: O… K… So how many senses can one have hallucinations in?
Student: Er…
Me: (helpfully) There’s auditory, visual… (nods at student to go on)
Student: Er…
Me: (sighs) How many senses do human beings have?
Student: (thinks) Six.
Ward team sniggers.
Me: Oh yeah? Name them.
Student: Hearing, sight, touch, taste… smell… and, er…
Me: (cannot help self) Sixth sense?
Doesn’t matter how many medical schools we have, does it?
Entry filed under: Dear Diary. Tags: Conversations, Funny, Work.
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Home of the Manx 
1.
Yee Ming Mok | February 8, 2010 at 21:31
sigh
2.
flaneurvric | February 8, 2010 at 22:11
This probably won’t help the student’s case, but I happen to know firsthand that a weirdly annoying ang moh (or, really, a weird, annoying ang moh) gave the students a lecture last week that defined delusions and hallucinations. The weirdly annoying ang moh would also like the record to reflect that she knew the difference between delusions and hallucinations well before medical school.
Also, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh. Sorry, on the student’s behalf (and probably mine as well).
3.
Katie | February 9, 2010 at 12:24
Why are you apologizing for the student??? How can it be your fault if he thinks that seeing dead people is a universal trait???
4.
flaneurvric | February 8, 2010 at 22:28
This is just sad.
http://xkcd.com/699/
(I promise I am done commenting on this post now. Sorry.)