A JOURNAL THAT CHANGED MY PRACTICE

It's a long time ago, but I recall it vividly

During one of those busy nights on call in our island community I had a call from a woman about her mother who lived alone in a modest old house by the sea. She was suffering from chest pain. When I arrived she was pale, pain stricken, and slightly restless—all reasons to suspect a myocardial infarction. Her condition improved a little after a morphine injection and I headed for the telephone to arrange for her immediate admission to the regional hospital's intensive care unit.

“Please doctor,” the old lady pleaded, “don't …