Ok, I'm sure most hospitalists and other doctors in the hospital have done this at one time or another in their career. They've lost their cell phone while rounding and have to back track their steps to try and find it. The good thing about the iPhone is that it has an app that can GPS track the cell phone should anyone ever decide to walk away with it.
But the app doesn't work well in big buildings like a hospital where the 'ping' area can only usually be pinged down to a city block or so. This is unlike at my home where I can follow the cell phone ping on another device and actually see the phone on an internet map moving from one room to another.
Fascinating stuff. But it doesn't help me if I've lost my cell phone in the hospital. So, if you're wondering how to find a lost cell phone in the hospital, whether it's an iPhone or a flip phone, just call the number. That's what I did recently when I misplaced my cell phone during hospital rounds. Who answered? Why one of my patients, of course. I recognized the voice, hung up and retrieved my phone in less than a minute.
In retrospect I think I've just created a new diagnostic test. It's called Happy's honesty sign. I believe it might come in handy when one is trying to determine if patients in pain are drug seeking or if they are honestly having pain. If you're honest about returning a brand spankin' new iPhone, you're more likely to be telling the truth about your need for pain medication. So leave your phone in the room of a patient whom you question their motivation and you might find the answer you seek.
If you're a student or a resident, it's time to tuck away Happy's Honesty Sign in your diagnostic arsenal along with these other great medical signs:
- Handsome Sign
- Sleeping Husband sign
- O and Q sign
- Twenty sign
- MFer sign
- Texting in the ER sign
- Band-Aid sign
- Intact Humor Reflex sign
- Fibromyallergia sign
- Denture Stains sign
- Square Root sign
- And while you're at it, check out these funny homeless signs.
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