The Name of the Dog.
Taimur Safdur M.D.
Safder, T. (2018). “The Name of the Dog.” N Engl J Med 379(14): 1299-1301.
It was July 1, my first day of residency, and a queasy feeling lodged in my stomach as I donned my new white coat. It was different from the previous ones I’d worn — not just longer, but heavier. I was carrying in my pockets everything I thought I needed as a freshly minted doctor: my three favorite pens, a glossy Littmann Cardiology III stethoscope, copies of studies related to my patient with cirrhosis, and of course my trusty purple Sabatine’s Pocket Medicine. Before the day was over, my bodily-fluid–covered white coat would have made a fitting prop for a CSI episode, my attending physician wasn’t nearly as impressed as I’d hoped with the studies I waved in front of her, and worst of all, I had lost all three of my pens. But with the aid of my pockets, I’d gotten through. I’d played my part reasonably well most of the day, but the moment when my attending had brought me up short with a question kept replaying in my mind. During morning rounds, I had presented a patient who was admitted for chest pain after walking his dog. My attending had asked, “What was the name of his dog?” (Excerpt from text of this commentary, p. 1299-1300; no abstract available.)
