eMJA: Green, The Internist

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The Internist

MJA 2000; 173: 664

There used to be a General Physician
Of eminent commanding disposition.
His morbid knowledge was completely awesome,
From ventral to the lateral and dorsum.
There was no system he could not expound on,
Nor any body part he was unsound on.
Inspection, palpation, percussion, auscultation
Were basic to routine examination.
The brain, the heart, the kidney, lung or colon,
Or any joint or organ that was swollen.
Each viscus with a membrane, duct or lumen
Would stimulate his medical acumen.
But nowadays Physicians have decided
That multisystem medicine's misguided,
Thereby opting for a demarcation
And introducing strict sub-specialisation.
Now patients with a medical condition,
In seeking out a competent Physician,
No longer have the slightest comprehension
Of whom they should consult for intervention.
For folk without approved medical training,
I proffer information thus pertaining,
Whereby they may indulge, even rejoice in,
A doctor whom they may have little choice in!

Len Green
Radiologist, Bondi Junction Radiology
Rose Bay, NSW

The Medical Journal of Australia eMJA

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