Whenever a patient says, "...to make a long story short", I know I should probably get a snack and settle in becuase it will be anything but short.
Mr. Yada: "Well it all started 2 weeks ago......blah blah fever 1 0 days ago....blah blah.....urinary/prostate problem....saw my primary care...blah blah yada yada....testicles hurt.....mumble snort.....pain when I urinate.....yada yada blabity blabity blabity yada...."
He went on for 10 minutes in spite of my attempts to pry the Reader's Digest abridged version out of him.
Me: "So, sir, to summarize, you have had intermittent fever for 10 days, testicular pain and swelling for 5 days, and urinary symptoms for 4 days? Is that correct?"
Mr. Yada: " Um....yes, I would say that sums it up nicely. How did you do that?"
Me: "Active listening and a scary ability to condense".
