ABSTRACT
We felt it would be interesting to include this chapter to remind our readers of the many aspects of medicine of which we have little or no control. It serves as a reminder to us that, regardless of how many years we went to school or spent in clinical training, we are not always the sole determinant of a patient’s outcome. Although we cannot give many suggestions on how to control these external factors, we still feel that physicians can practice medicine more defensively if they are aware of these factors.
