This semester, each of us gets an opportunity to be videotaped while we try to perform a mock case history. Essentially it's just asking questions about what the patient needs and their previous medical history. I recently got my turn and I was not prepared for the curve balls the patient threw at me. Who was "patient?" None other than our beloved Dr. Harville. Luckily, I wasn't the first one to be videotaped that day so I got to watch Dr. Harville's first victim of the day.
The first student in my videotaping group ended up with a patient experiencing a retinal detachment which can be potentially blinding and irreversible. "Whew!" I thought. "That's gotta be the worst scenario of the day so I'm off the hook." Think again. One patient thought the doctor was extremely attractive and wanted to be more than friends with the doctor. The sexual innuendos were non-stop. Another "patient" had recently acquired an STD. As concerns surfaced, it was all we could do to hold in the laughter. And the poor student in the hot seat was left to do the best they could to respond professionally. Boy did the atmosphere change when Dr. Harville pretended to be a 10 year old girl that came from a physically and sexually abusive home. We had a lot of thoughtful questions after that student was done.
By the time it was my turn, I had NO idea what to expect. In the end, I think I got off easy with an elderly patient with macular degeneration. His wife and previous optometrist had died the year previous and he hit another car in the parking lot, but overall not too bad. Can't wait to get into clinic!