Hairy-legged patients are a-okay.
Here's the thing ladies: when you come into ED, I don't really care if you've shaved your legs or not. In fact, working as a doctor for this long* has pretty much wiped clean any expectations of flawless, hairless legs that the media have tried to instill in me via their stealth campaign of women's magazines and late night television advertisements.
I KNOW IT'S NOT TRUE, MEDIA, I SEE REAL LEGS!!
In fact, sometimes if you come into ED looking too nice, I become skeptical. "Hmm, unsmudged eye-makeup and shaved legs under stockings?? Perhaps this isn't an *emergency* after all??"
So to the next lady who says to me, "Oh, sorry I haven't shaved my legs," when I attempt to examine whether they have a DVT or a rash or fluid around the ankles or some other sign of *actual illness*...well, just don't.
*okay not long but LONG ENOUGH. Long enough to say 'several years' when the nosier among you ask.
I KNOW IT'S NOT TRUE, MEDIA, I SEE REAL LEGS!!
In fact, sometimes if you come into ED looking too nice, I become skeptical. "Hmm, unsmudged eye-makeup and shaved legs under stockings?? Perhaps this isn't an *emergency* after all??"
So to the next lady who says to me, "Oh, sorry I haven't shaved my legs," when I attempt to examine whether they have a DVT or a rash or fluid around the ankles or some other sign of *actual illness*...well, just don't.
*okay not long but LONG ENOUGH. Long enough to say 'several years' when the nosier among you ask.
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