“Can’t I just fake it? Can’t I pretend to care, even if I don’t.” So an anonymous physician is reported to have responded during a workshop on caring communication with […]
William Cayley
William Cayley: The patient’s story comes first
Once upon a time, there was a pain, a positive test, and “a possibly abnormal x-ray requiring clinical correlation.” As they travelled the world, no one could figure out where […]
William Cayley: Caring about the patient’s story
Who do you care about? The authors of guidelines? The producers of evidence? Those who audit your practice? Or perhaps your patients? Sophie Cook’s recent post on consultation skills finally […]
William Cayley: Does uncertainty and fear of the unknown drive overdiagnosis?
Edward Davies hits the nail on the head: “The fear of both patient and doctor can sometimes override the best knowledge, research, and information known to man.” I do not […]
William Cayley: Measurement—at the expense of success
“Doc, how’s my blood pressure? What about my cholesterol? How about my weight?” “There’s room for improvement,” I say. “How much do you exercise? How many fruits and vegetables do […]
William Cayley: Resistance is futile (?)
Recent years have seen a lot of optimistic talk and writing about the “Patient Centered Medical Home”, the promise of population registries and electronic health records for preventing and managing […]
William Cayley: Continuity—in and out of hospital in the US
We’re seeing a resurgence in primary care in the US—or are we? In a recent post, Domhnall MacAuley comments on the way primary care seems to have “emerged from the […]
William Cayley on the value of learning to practise in resource limited settings
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” goes the saying. Recently I was bemoaning with a physician friend the ease with which learners often default to “expert” interpretation for imaging, […]
William Cayley: Are we getting too systematic for our own good?
“We need to standardize our systems of practice to improve our quality metrics and do a better job of caring for our patients.” Such was the thrust of a recent […]