One part of being a medical professional that no one really prepares you for is how to deliver bad news. If you watch those who have done it long enough (read: emergency doc) you'll see the professional approach: sterile, blunt, quick. You have to do it that way, because you have a bunch of patients still alive to attend to. OK, not this blunt: But that's a learned skill. Those who haven't done it as frequently have obvious tells: the grimace when your hopeful face meets their eyes, the ... Read more »