Where I work (just on the outskirts of Melbourne in a coastal town) people are quite health conscious. It’s fairly routine to get the fit and healthy 20-something-year-olds coming in and asking for their annual routine bloods.
“What do you mean by annual bloods?” I ask. “Well you know, everything. Just to check. Like my cholesterol, my vitamin (pronounced vite-a-min) D, my hormones, that sort of stuff.” My pulse rate tends to peak at around 200 in these consultations as I’m afraid the ethical, good doctor-angel on my shoulder starts jumping up and down reminding me to challenge this unnecessary screening. I have also had requests for body scans – “just to check”.
But the beauty here is that if people really want their scans and are not put off by my deflection talk, then I can still send them for it, but I just tick the ‘private’ box on the form.