Gotcha!

(Molly) Some of you have been clammoring for work stories, and I have a pretty good one recently. (Its a funny story -- insights into socialized medicine coming at a later time...sorry, Kim, you just have to wait!) Another one of the ED docs was treating someone who needed and ultrasound of his heart, which I offered to do for him. I came in and introduced myself, and began to scan subxyphoid (just under the sternum) and in the para-sternal long axis view (on top of your heart peeking between the ribs). I was looking and just couldn't seem to find what looked like the heart...more gel...change positions...more gel...change positions...tried the apex view from the bottom of the heart...nothing...I looked up to notice the patient is red-faced and shaking -- He was totally cracking up. Then I realized the nurse was cracking up, and the other doctor was cracking up. I suddenly remembered that they had been talking earlier about a patient with a rare condition known as dextrocardia (heart on the right instead of left side of the chest, where it should be) and complete situs inversus (all of your internal organs flipped to to the opposite side of normal, liver on the left, spleen on the right, etc)...and I was like, "Wait a minute...do you have dextrocardia?!" And the patient and the nurse and the other doctor lost it and laughed uproariously. Apparently it was a silent agreement when I came in the other doc winked at the patient and pointed to his heart and the nurse made a silent "Shhhhh" signal. Turns out they all got me with the old "dextrocardia-heart-on-the-wrong-side-ultrasound" gag. Hilarious.