Anonymous Doctor

Whenever anyone in the hospital tells a story about a complicated medical situation, usually something that's led to a terrible outcome or a death, the response is always the same.

"Good case, good case."

Said in the same dispassionate tone, completely disregarding the fact that this "good case" is about an actual human being, and quite often an actual human being who's now missing a few of her organs, or who unexpectedly died.

You never want to be a "good case." If you're a "good case," it means something unusual has happened, and unusual is almost never a good thing.

"So the patient was in the OR, and the fluorescent light fixture somehow came loose from the ceiling, dropped onto the operating table, and immediately killed the patient!"

"Good case, good case."

"And then when her husband came to identify the body, he had a massive MI right there in the morgue, and the pathologist had to perform CPR-- unsuccessful, of course, since he hadn't dealt with a live patient in 25 years."

"Good case, good case."

"And when the son was on his way to identify both of his parents, he got into a car accident, came into the ER with his leg dangling from his body, barely attached, and he bled out, right there in the waiting room while the receptionist was checking his insurance status."

"Good case, good case."

"The daughter is fine though. Healthy. No medical issues."

"Oh. That's a terrible case. Why would you even tell us that?"