chitchat

I don't want to overgeneralize, but when it comes to patients, all old women love me.

Partially because I really try to relate to them.  I ask them about their kids and their grandkids.  Again, I don't want to overgeneralize, but all old women love to talk about their grandkids.  Although I do pretty well with the ones who don't have grandkids too.  Like, we talk about bridge.  I think deep down, I'm actually a 70-year-old woman.

The only problem is that once I get them talking, it's hard to stop.  I find it very easy to do a directed history on a chatty patient, but I feel bad interrupting someone in the middle of a story about their grandchild.  But if I let them, each of these patients would go on for hours and I'd get home sometime after midnight.

Any advice on how to cut these conversations short after a respectable amount of time?

Vitamin D

Vitamin D seems to be the new big thing.  I've had multiple friends tell me they were feeling tired, then they were diagnosed with Vitamin D deficiency and started feeling better after taking supplements.  We check Vit D levels all the time on patients.  I myself have been a believer in the Vit D hype, and even take supplements myself.

But now this review has come out, stating that "Routine vitamin D supplementation does not prolong life, decrease the incidence of cancer or cardiovascular disease, or decrease fracture rates... Randomized controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation in the treatment of depression, fatigue, osteoarthritis, and chronic pain show no benefit, even in persons with low levels at baseline."

Interesting.  I have to admit, it gives me pause.  Is all the Vit D hype over nothing?  Is this like when I used to take zinc when I thought I was getting sick?