ABSTRACT
Yet, clinicians know that there is no average patient. There is no patient who perfectly fits the textbook description of a condition or who can be fully characterized by means, medians and chi square statistics. We recognize the importance of treating each patient uniquely, of bringing our knowledge and experience to the specific details of their individual situations and life histories. Knowledge comes from textbooks and the literature, but experience is still derived from listening to and caring for patients, one at a time, and being prepared to recognize the unexpected.
