Multitasking

On a second thought, the problem of having too much thoughts going through our mind is not only the difficulty of physicians - every mature adult faces the same difficulty.

For example, in addition to the entirely legitimate and scientific considerations that Danielle Ofri alluded to, I find myself having some additional synaptic activity on slightly unrelated areas:

• That diagnosis code in the computer is not quite right. Shall I spare a minute to amend it (so that my department could get probably a few more cents in the next round of resource allocation exercise) ?
• The discharge summary of his last hospital admission is a rubbish. Shall I spare a moment and call that house officer to give her some education (in whatever sense you prefer to believe) ?
• This chap sounds a suitable candidate of a clinical trial that my colleague just started recruiting. Shall I explore further ?
• Oh, he has a good murmur. Shall I ask him to come for our MRCP examination ?

If you think that's not enough, I've omitted the other epileptic foci from personal, financial, family problems.

And, by then, you would come to appreciate the traditional Chinese wisdom:

竹前坐消無事福，

花間補讀未完書。

What a good fortune.