It All Begins in the Waiting Room

How to drive your doctor crazy while escaping retaliation

For more than twenty years, Dr. David Rapoport has been writing about the lighter side of medicine in Family Practice and Medical Post magazines. They both devoted their last page to medical humour, with an illustrated story. This book brings together seventy of the popular stories Dr. Rapoport wrote for the magazines. Read them and you’ll understand what goes on in the doctor’s head while you’re in his waiting and consulting rooms. 

Dr. Rapoport says that most of his patients can be assessed in a lighthearted way because they appreciate a little humour. They, in turn, have taught him a lot on the subject. Favourite patients bring laughter into many a long day, and patients in the waiting room hear it and usually appreciate these lighter moments. Physicians know they may have to switch attitudes for the next person, who could have a grim diagnosis. 

Although the practice of medicine changes daily, Dr. Rapoport believes that the unique doctor-patient relationship remains much the same. Whatever the problem, he feels that compassion and humour, along with experience and skill, go a long way in making that relationship work well. 

David Rapoport was born in Toronto and graduated in medicine from the University of Toronto. He has practised family medicine in North Toronto since 1969.