CEREBROSPINALECTOMY
Me: "Your note says the neurological exam was grossly intact." Resident: "It was." Me: "Which parts." Resident: "...Grossly." "Grossly intact" means you stood near him. It is not an examination. It is a rumour about an examination. send this to the resident whose notes you have read
EXPLAINED (ACCURACY-CHECKED)
"Grossly intact" is not a documented neurological examination. A neurological exam is recorded by its components — mental status, cranial nerves, motor, sensory, reflexes, coordination and gait — and a global adjective records none of them.
Correct: a neurological examination is documented by its components, and a global adjective documents none of them. The target is documentation quality and the resident — never the patient. Rests on established neuroanatomy / standard clinical practice; no literature lookup required.
PERMANENT LINK
https://cerebrospinalectomy.com/jokes/me-your-note-says-the-neurological-exam-was-grossly-intact/
https://cerebrospinalectomy.com/jokes/me-your-note-says-the-neurological-exam-was-grossly-intact/
Reprint anywhere, non-commercially, with attribution to cerebrospinalectomy.com. We punch at specialties, the system, and ourselves — never at patients.