Many medical students are taught this adage: “When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras.” It means that we, as physicians, need to remember that common things are common, and that we shouldn’t immediately focus on the rare or esoteric.
As a pediatrician, for instance, I have to constantly remind myself that the vast, vast majority of children are healthy. Just because I encounter mostly sick children in the clinic doesn’t mean otherwise. I see a skewed population.
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