{"id":16692,"date":"2012-05-01T08:12:12","date_gmt":"2012-05-01T07:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=16692"},"modified":"2012-05-01T08:12:12","modified_gmt":"2012-05-01T07:12:12","slug":"rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhys Davies: The patient will see you now"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/04\/13\/rhys-davies-in-defence-of-medical-humanities\/olympus-digital-camera\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-16169\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-16169\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2012\/04\/rhys_davies.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"110\" \/><\/a>It\u2019s that time of year again when exams rear their ugly heads. Not for me though\u2014this year\u2019s exams are long over. Instead, the third years are facing their first OSCEs (objective structured clinical exams). Last week, I volunteered for one of the numerous mock OSCEs organised for them by various well-meaning educational student societies. I don\u2019t know about them but it was certainly an educational experience for me.<\/p>\n<p>Osler said, &#8220;no one is more interesting as an object of study than a student.&#8221; Apart from a poorly-timed kidney stone just before Christmas, I haven\u2019t had much experience on this side of the bedside manner so it was truly an education to see what medical students like me look like from the patient\u2019s perspective.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>I was the subject of the medical examiner\u2019s favourite, the cardiovascular examination. All the students that passed their hands over me seemed like bright, young, professional things. They all seemed to know where the heart was and how to wear a stethoscope. So far, so good. It was in the details that they began to define themselves. I was amazed that my heart rate could go from 44 to 72 beats per minute while resting on a couch in the space of ten minutes. Equally curious was how the same affected demeanour could come across as calm and comfortable to some while irritable and agitated to others.<\/p>\n<p>Some of them practiced palpation as if it were a kind of massage. Conversely, when other students took my carotid pulse, I felt like I had a gun pressed against my throat. Others still thought that they could get a reading on my cardiovascular health by palpating my socks. It\u2019s a little known fact that a cotton-nylon blend is indicative of coarctation of the aorta.<\/p>\n<p>What particularly struck me were the little flourishes each student brought to the examination. A few asked to see my teeth, conscious of the link between recent dental work and endocarditis. One mentioned that he was looking for koilonychia as he examined my hands. While he moved on to my pulses, I could help but smile at chest pain caused by iron deficiency anaemia. And there was one flash bugger with a pocket watch.<\/p>\n<p>Whilst entertaining, I\u2019m glad I volunteered for the mock exam. I know I benefitted immensely from these things in preparation for my exams last year so it was only right to pay my dues. Far from the stereotype of the medical student &#8220;gunner,&#8221; medical school fosters a strong sense of fellowship. It\u2019s important to build on and strengthen this community.<\/p>\n<p>Also, as I prepare to rejoin the clinical environment, I now have a better idea of what the patient sees when I pop my head around the curtain. Medical students shouldn\u2019t be superficial; looking good will only get you so far. An audience of one watches as I listen for murmurs. I should palpate firmly but not too hard and feel for pulses, not socks.<\/p>\n<p>And I must get a pocket watch.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Rhys Davies<\/strong> is a medical student in his fourth year at Imperial College, London.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s that time of year again when exams rear their ugly heads. Not for me though\u2014this year\u2019s exams are long over. Instead, the third years are facing their first OSCEs [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/\">More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[223,224],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guest-bloggers","category-students"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Rhys Davies: The patient will see you now - The BMJ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rhys Davies: The patient will see you now - The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s that time of year again when exams rear their ugly heads. Not for me though\u2014this year\u2019s exams are long over. Instead, the third years are facing their first OSCEs [...]More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-05-01T07:12:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2012\/04\/rhys_davies.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"BMJ\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"BMJ\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/01\\\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/01\\\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"BMJ\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe\"},\"headline\":\"Rhys Davies: The patient will see you now\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-05-01T07:12:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/01\\\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":532,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/01\\\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/rhys_davies.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Guest writers\",\"Students\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/01\\\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/01\\\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/01\\\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\\\/\",\"name\":\"Rhys Davies: The patient will see you now - The BMJ\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/01\\\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/01\\\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/rhys_davies.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-05-01T07:12:12+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/01\\\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/01\\\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/01\\\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/rhys_davies.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/rhys_davies.jpg\",\"width\":\"160\",\"height\":\"110\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2012\\\/05\\\/01\\\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rhys Davies: The patient will see you now\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"description\":\"Helping doctors make better decisions.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"width\":852,\"height\":568,\"caption\":\"The BMJ\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/bmjdotcom\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/bmj_latest\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe\",\"name\":\"BMJ\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"BMJ\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rhys Davies: The patient will see you now - The BMJ","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rhys Davies: The patient will see you now - The BMJ","og_description":"It\u2019s that time of year again when exams rear their ugly heads. Not for me though\u2014this year\u2019s exams are long over. Instead, the third years are facing their first OSCEs [...]More...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/","og_site_name":"The BMJ","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","article_published_time":"2012-05-01T07:12:12+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2012\/04\/rhys_davies.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"BMJ","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bmj_latest","twitter_site":"@bmj_latest","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"BMJ","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/"},"author":{"name":"BMJ","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe"},"headline":"Rhys Davies: The patient will see you now","datePublished":"2012-05-01T07:12:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/"},"wordCount":532,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2012\/04\/rhys_davies.jpg","articleSection":["Guest writers","Students"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/","name":"Rhys Davies: The patient will see you now - The BMJ","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2012\/04\/rhys_davies.jpg","datePublished":"2012-05-01T07:12:12+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2012\/04\/rhys_davies.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2012\/04\/rhys_davies.jpg","width":"160","height":"110"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/05\/01\/rhys-davies-the-patient-will-see-you-now\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rhys Davies: The patient will see you now"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","name":"The BMJ","description":"Helping doctors make better decisions.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization","name":"The BMJ","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","width":852,"height":568,"caption":"The BMJ"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","https:\/\/x.com\/bmj_latest"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/ba3da426ed20e8f1d933ca367d8216fe","name":"BMJ","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4d8f39281bcae118348a1c027347b8e53b82d42520e774a8b50dd9a6ac6c01d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"BMJ"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16692\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}