T - 13 Days

The end of the year is getting closer and closer. Yet it seems so far....

Anyway, in honor of my last call night of the year tonight, I thought I would start posting some of my favorite call moments of the year. Some of them I have experienced, and some of them were other's tales of woe. Hopefully, they will be entertaining.

Tissue is the Issue

Caller: Hi, is this pathology?
LC: Yes it is.
Caller: Do you do biopsies?
LC: We do FNAs.
Caller: FNAs?
LC: Fine needle aspirations?
Caller: Is that a biopsy?
LC: Uh, not exactly. It's a needle biopsy. We run a small needle through the mass and draw up cells for cytologic examination.
Caller: (accusatory) That's not a biopsy!
LC: Yes, it's not a traditional tissue biopsy.
Caller: (Raising the voice level) But you're pathology. You're supposed to do biopsies. Isn't that what you do all day?
LC: Well, we do look at tissue sections. But generally someone else gets them for us.
Caller: (Yelling) Well, what am I supposed to do now?
LC: I suggest you call IR or surgery depending on what you are trying to biopsy. What kind of mass does yur patient have?
Caller: :::hangs up:::