Correspondence

The Intern's Palmomental Reflex

N Engl J Med 2004; 350:1059March 4, 2004

Article

To the Editor:

The contemporary palmomental reflex can no longer be viewed as primitive. Usually elicited by a probing question from a staff physician, it is a reflexive action observed in medical students and house officers. The reflex involves a quick movement to expose a personal digital assistant (Palm Pilot) or similar device, followed by repetitive stabs with the stylus on the device screen. The “palmo” component of the reflex seems to be necessary to start the “mental” component required to answer the question. The reflex has replaced the “um” and “ah” of indecision or thought and has almost eliminated the “I don't know” response.

G.L. Crelinsten, M.D.
McGill University, Montreal, QC H3H 1V4, Canada
gcrelinsten@qc.aibn.com

Citing Articles (4)

Citing Articles

1. 1

   N. Mysore, P. Pluye, R.M. Grad, J. Johnson-Lafleur. (2009) Tensions associated with the use of electronic knowledge resources within clinical decision-making processes: A multiple case study. International Journal of Medical Informatics 78:5, 321-329
   CrossRef

2. 2

   Michael W. Tempelhof. (2009) Personal Digital Assistants: A Review of Current and Potential Utilization Among Medical Residents. Teaching and Learning in Medicine 21:2, 100-104
   CrossRef

3. 3

   Muhittin A. Serdar, Mustafa Turan, Murat Cihan. (2008) Rapid access to information resources in clinical biochemistry: medical applications of Personal Digital Assistants (PDA). Clinical and Experimental Medicine 8:2, 117-122
   CrossRef

4. 4

   Daniel C Baumgart. (2005) Personal digital assistants in health care: experienced clinicians in the palm of your hand?. The Lancet 366:9492, 1210-1222
   CrossRef