A young doctor moved to a small community to replace a doctor who was retiring. The older doctor suggested that the young one accompany him on his rounds, so the community could become used to the new doctor.
At the first house a woman complains, “I’ve been a little sick to my stomach.”
The older doctor says, “Well, you’ve probably been overdoing the fresh fruit. Why not cut back on the amount that you’ve been eating and see if that does the trick?”
As they left, the younger doctor said, “You didn’t even examine that woman? How did you come to the diagnosis so quickly?
“I didn’t have to. You noticed that I dropped my stethoscope on the floor in there? When I bent over to pick it up, I noticed a half dozen banana peels in the trash. That was probably what was making her sick.”
“Huh”, said the young doctor. “Pretty clever. I think I’ll try that at the next house.”
Arriving at the next house, they spent several minutes talking with a younger woman. She complained that she didn’t have the energy she once did and said, “I am feeling terribly run down lately.”
“You have probably been doing too much work for the church,” the younger doctor told her. “Perhaps you should cut back a bit and see if that helps.”
As they left, the older doctor said, “I know that woman well. Your diagnosis is almost certainly correct, but how did you arrive to it?”
“I did what you did at the last house. I dropped my stethoscope and when I bent down to retrieve it, I noticed the preacher under the bed.”
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