Volume 189 - Issue 10
I went to work with a “cold” ...
Author: John F Knight
Med J Aust 2008; 189 (10): 600. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2008.tb02199.x
Published online: 17 November 2008
Published online: 17 November 2008
To the Editor: I have read every issue of the Journal since graduating in 1953. In my opinion, one of the best articles I’ve seen is Dawn DeWitt’s story, “I went to work with a ‘cold’ ...”.1 Dr DeWitt’s dilemma mirrors that of the average doctor precisely. Her “solution” gives us a good dose of commonsense that we seldom hear.
In my time as a general practitioner, I have given thousands of doses of influenza vaccine; but I have never had the flu or pneumonia shot myself (nor has my wife — a registered nurse). I took 2 weeks off duty in 1971 with a “cold”, when I simply flaked out on the floor. A corneal transplant and transurethral resection of the prostate were done while “on vacation”.
Luckily, I no longer have the dilemma of whether or not to go to work when I am sicker than my patients, but I will have the flu shot this week anyway. Thanks Dawn.