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eftychia: Me in kilt and poofy shirt, facing away, playing acoustic guitar behind head (cyhmn)
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QotD

posted by [personal profile] eftychia at 05:24am on 2018-08-23

"'We have a saying in medicine that when you hear hoofbeats, the first thing that should come to mind is a horse, not a zebra.' This too cute by half phrase has killed so many zebras." -- Jennifer Brea (@jenbrea), 2018-08-14

"I heard this so many times when i was in the hospital for FOUR months. 'We're looking for a horse, not a zebra.'

"If it's been months and your can't find that horse, maybe try asking the zebra for directions."

-- Brook Hines (@nashville_brook), 2018-08-14

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There are 7 comments on this entry. (Reply.)
volare: The Kenmore Square, Boston Citgo sign (Boston pride)

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posted by [personal profile] volare at 02:17pm on 2018-08-23
Heh, in EMS we were taught "expect horses but be ready for zebras".
Nature of emergency medicine, I suppose.
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siderea: (Default)

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posted by [personal profile] siderea at 06:13pm on 2018-08-23
Innnnneresting. You guys don't diagnose?
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volare: The Kenmore Square, Boston Citgo sign (Boston pride)

(no subject)

posted by [personal profile] volare at 02:18am on 2018-08-24
In MA, not as such, no. We can report and treat the obvious when we roll up on a cardiac arrest or an imminent birth for example, but we don't make an official diagnosis, only record and treat the symptoms and signs we observe - the horses in a call for sudden bout of abdominal pain could be anything from reflux to labor contractions to gastroenteritis, but we have to keep the abdominal aortic aneurysm zebra in mind.

My brother was on a hell of a zebra call - pt CC was "my teeth hurt", turned out to be referred pain in the jaw from a heart attack, pt had no other symptoms. I had a run that was so out there I told my supervisor afterward "I know we gotta watch for zebras but you never said anything about f*cking QUAGGAS."
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selki: (Default)

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posted by [personal profile] selki at 01:47pm on 2018-08-25
I think of zebras as stuff that's really rare, not heart attacks, though I get that's not the most likely cause of teeth hurting.
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minoanmiss: A detail of the Ladies in Blue fresco (Default)

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posted by [personal profile] minoanmiss at 09:36pm on 2018-08-23
In my experience of working in medicine, EMS has more sense than nurses who have way more sense than doctors.
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siderea: (Default)

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posted by [personal profile] siderea at 06:30pm on 2018-08-23
"'We have a saying in medicine that when you hear hoofbeats, the first thing that should come to mind is a horse, not a zebra.' This too cute by half phrase has killed so many zebras."

Well, it's probably true that horses should be the first thing that comes to mind. It's just that if further facts contradict the first thing that comes to mind, you should continue thinking. The problem is when doctors come to a probabalistic conclusion – I won't say jump to a conclusion – and then get stuck there.
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corylea: A woman gazing at the sky (Default)

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posted by [personal profile] corylea at 09:27pm on 2018-08-23
When you hear hoofbeats, sometimes it's a unicorn, whether you believe in them or not. :-)
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