A Taste of My Own Medicine

angry doc has had a rough week.

It all started with a semi-elective procedure he had to undergo, which was complicated by a medical error at the beginning, adverse effect of a medication following that, and now a possible drug allergy.

The medical error was unexpected but avoidable (and fortunately minor with no longterm consequences), the adverse effect was expected and unavoidable (the benefits of the therapy outweighed the adverse effect), and the drug allergy was of course unexpected and again unavoidable since the medication is part of the treatment.

So three out of four there.

Being a doctor doesn't grant angry doc immunity from adverse medical events, but it does make him see and react to these events differently from the average layman.

He understands how medical errors can occur even under the care of skilled and experienced healthcare workers acting under the best intentions, and he is willing to forgive (as long as the lesson learnt at his expense is not forgotten).

He understands how medications that are good for you can sometimes make you feel uncomfortable, and he is willing to accept that.

What he couldn't stomach though is that fact that it took him so long to self-diagnose the possible drug allergy.

But hey, given the circumstances, perhaps I should cut angry doc some slack, don't you think?