Cautionary Tales

Authentic case histories from John Murtagh's hands-on experience in General Practice Learn from the master! John Murtagh's Cautionary Tales is drawn from over 30 years experience as a General Practitioner. Taken primarily from Professor Murtagh's own practice in rural Victoria, these cautionary tales are authentic cases in clinical practice and the mistakes and problems that GPs can encounter. Each story is an engaging example of the common mistakes which can occur in general practice and provides the reader with valuable insights. Each tale is enriched with psychological, social and environmental factors that form part of every patient problem. The addition of a section called 'Discussions and lessons learned' at the end of each tale further enhances the value and application of each case to real life practice. An invaluable source for students, educators and practicing GPs of all ages. John Murtagh, AM, is Executive Director, Education at the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and Adjunct Professor of General Practice at the Department of Community Medicine and General Practice , Monash University, Victoria, Australia. He is one of Australia's leading GPs and community educators. A Professor in General Practice in the School of Primary Health Care at Monash University in Melbourne, Professorial Fellow in the Department of General Practice at the University of Melbourne and Adjunct Clinical Professor in the Graduate School of Medicine at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle. taken from Chapter 1: When I am called out at night I always request that the front veranda light is put on as this aids the identification of the house in a dark street in the middle of the night. While doing one particular late night call, I noticed a veranda light on in the street and thought that I had arrived at my destination. ‘My knock on the door was answered by a rather startled man in his dressing gown. I promptly said “Good evening”, walked straight in, past the startled man, down the hall to the bedroom and stood by the bed looking down at an equally startled lady. It was to my horror that I realised that I had entered the wrong house. I tried to make my apologies and excuses as I backed out of the house, expecting to be assaulted or at least abused by the husband. However, he simply said, “Don’t worry Doctor, but I can tell you one thing. I have never seen a man get into a woman’s bedroom as quickly as you can.