I am trained as a nurse practitioner and still work part time in an emergency department. Benefits, you know. Anyway, we see a large volume of people that are not at their best. It is easy to become very jaded.
The other day, I was presented with a chart by a triage nurse who said, "He's got the man-flu". Man flu, for those of you who are not familiar with the term, is any man who comes to the emergency room thinking he's dying because he's coughing and or vomiting and or has a fever and or has body aches all over. This same nurse told the nurses who would be taking care of the patient that it was a "man flu".
Well I looked at the chart before I went in to see the patient. He was 34 years old with a markedly increased heart rate, lower blood pressure than we would expect, and his oxygen levels were also lower than expected for a young man. I thought "this guy doesn't have the man flu, he's sick"
When I went in to examine the patient it was clear to see that he was sick. It ended up that he did not have our typical man flu but rather had a significant pneumonia and had to be admitted to the hosital.
The moral of this story is to always look at each situation as unique. Don't prejudge. And be very, very careful in the evaluation of the situation. If you do not do this "due dilligence" you run the risk of missing something. That includes missing a buyer you could get qualified, or a property that is better than it looks, or an inspection report that reveals a potential problem for your buyers, or paperwork that is incomplete or not signed when you go to closing.
You can call this whatever you want: due diligence, OCD, or anal retentive. Whatever you call it, if you want to serve your clients well and stay out of trouble, it's a good practice to adopt.
Comments(9)