--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In medical school, it's quite possible to…" description: "\"In medical school, it's quite possible to get taught that you can diagnose everybody and treat everything. But then you get out in the real world and f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/barry-marshall-28295_diagnose_in-medical-school-it-s-quite-possible-to_459292.jpg" --- # In medical school, it's quite possible to get taught that… ![“In medical school, it's quite possible to get taught that you can diagnose everybody and treat everything. But then you get out in the real world and find that for most patients walking through your door, you have no idea what's causing their symptoms.” quote by Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/barry-marshall-28295_diagnose_in-medical-school-it-s-quite-possible-to_459292.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/barry-marshall-28295_diagnose_in-medical-school-it-s-quite-possible-to_459292.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/barry-marshall-28295_diagnose_in-medical-school-it-s-quite-possible-to_459292.jpg) > “In medical school, it's quite possible to get taught that you can diagnose everybody and treat everything. But then you get out in the real world and find that for most patients walking through your door, you have no idea what's causing their symptoms.” [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Medical training often overstates diagnostic certainty, yet real‑world patients present ambiguous symptoms requiring broader inquiry. **In simple terms:** Doctors face uncertainty with many patients. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and broaden diagnostic thinking. Themes medicine diagnosis uncertainty clinical practice education Mood thoughtful instructive realistic Type clinical educational When to use this quote - hospital rounds - primary care clinics - continuing medical education Key Concepts Differential diagnosis clinical reasoning patient-centered care Questions to Reflect On - What methods improve diagnostic humility? - How can clinicians stay curious amid routine? A Different Perspective Overreliance on protocols can miss atypical cases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Diagnose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diagnose/) [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Medical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medical/) [Medical school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medical-school/) [Real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-world/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“The MRI shows a mass in your brain, which is causing your symptoms.” Silence. “Do you want to see the MRI?” “Yes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/the-mri-shows-a-mass-in-your-brain-which-is-causing-your-symptoms/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [In high school I had B's and C's, not too many A's, but I must have done well on that medical school test, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/in-high-school-i-had-b-s-and-c-s-not-too-many-a-s-but-i-must-have/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure you're not surrounded by idiots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-you-diagnose-yourself-with-depression-or-low-self-esteem-first/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You cannot solve a problem unless you diagnose the problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/you-cannot-solve-a-problem-unless-you-diagnose-the-problem/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [You can't really accurately diagnose someone, I think. Or I've been told that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/you-can-t-really-accurately-diagnose-someone-i-think-or-i-ve-been/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [Jaundice is the disease that your friends diagnose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/jaundice-is-the-disease-that-your-friends-diagnose/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [Let's not kid ourselves. Whatever we diagnose, most patients, if they don't die, get well by themselves. Our job is mainly to try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-frolov/let-s-not-kid-ourselves-whatever-we-diagnose-most-patients-if-they/) [Diane Frolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-frolov/) > [“By studying as many crimes as we could, and through talking to the experts—the perpetrators themselves—we have learned to interpret those clues in much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/by-studying-as-many-crimes-as-we-could-and-through-talking-to-the/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [“You can diagnose the disease, but God keeps the time frame secret.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-and-keith-desserich/you-can-diagnose-the-disease-but-god-keeps-the-time-frame-secret/) [Brooke and Keith Desserich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-and-keith-desserich/) > [“Troubleshooting the sickened human body was the most difficult task that I was ever given.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/troubleshooting-the-sickened-human-body-was-the-most-difficult-task/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“Diagnose Problems to Get at Their Root Causes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/diagnose-problems-to-get-at-their-root-causes/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“If your doctor relies on blood and urine tests to diagnose and treat you, then you could be in serious trouble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/if-your-doctor-relies-on-blood-and-urine-tests-to-diagnose-and-treat/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Cameron: You can't diagnose that without a biopsy. House: Yes, we can, we treat it. If she gets better we know that we're right.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/house-md/cameron-you-can-t-diagnose-that-without-a-biopsy-house-yes-we-can-we/) [House MD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/house-md/) > [“THE MAXIMS OF MEDICINE Before you examine the body of a patient, Be patient to learn his story. For once you learn his story,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-maxims-of-medicine-before-you-examine-the-body-of-a-patient-be/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [Sepsis is a difficult thing to diagnose and one's default really should be to rule it out first. Sepsis should be at the top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-watkins/sepsis-is-a-difficult-thing-to-diagnose-and-one-s-default-really/) [Jason Watkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-watkins/) ## More by Barry Marshall > [In high school I had B's and C's, not too many A's, but I must have done well on that medical school test, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/in-high-school-i-had-b-s-and-c-s-not-too-many-a-s-but-i-must-have/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [I was hoping I was going to get an ulcer. I was hoping to boost my research career by developing a bleeding ulcer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/i-was-hoping-i-was-going-to-get-an-ulcer-i-was-hoping-to-boost-my/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [Dad always explained the car engine when he repaired it, and he had many technical books, so I was making electromagnets by age eight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/dad-always-explained-the-car-engine-when-he-repaired-it-and-he-had/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [If you say you are the Safe Food Foundation, that means you're implying that your food is safer or that every other bit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/if-you-say-you-are-the-safe-food-foundation-that-means-you-re/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [I was born in 1951 in Kalgoorlie, a prosperous mining town 370 miles east of Perth, Western Australia. Kalgoorlie was a gold rush town…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/i-was-born-in-1951-in-kalgoorlie-a-prosperous-mining-town-370-miles/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [It was so frustrating to see ulcer patients having surgery, or even dying, when I knew a simple antibiotic treatment could fix the problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/it-was-so-frustrating-to-see-ulcer-patients-having-surgery-or-even/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [To gastroenterologists, the concept of a germ causing ulcers was like saying that the Earth is flat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/to-gastroenterologists-the-concept-of-a-germ-causing-ulcers-was-like/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [If humans evolved in a tiny area of Africa, they only saw plants and animals within a 100-kilometre radius for a million years. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/if-humans-evolved-in-a-tiny-area-of-africa-they-only-saw-plants-and/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [My mother was a nurse, and in her era, most diseases weren't understood; people put mustard plasters on knees and rubbed camphor on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/my-mother-was-a-nurse-and-in-her-era-most-diseases-weren-t-understood/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [The politics have always been difficult in medicine. There is some truth in the way medical practice is portrayed in TV dramas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/the-politics-have-always-been-difficult-in-medicine-there-is-some/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [You can always find stress in someone's life if you want to. You ask a few questions, and eventually, it's, 'Yes, I admit, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/you-can-always-find-stress-in-someone-s-life-if-you-want-to-you-ask-a/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [The 20th-century ulcer epidemic was a sign of good health in American people - good diet, strong acidity and healthy immune response actually make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/the-20th-century-ulcer-epidemic-was-a-sign-of-good-health-in-american/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [I am told by others that I have a lateral-thinking, broad approach to problems, sometimes to my detriment. In school, my grades always suffered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/i-am-told-by-others-that-i-have-a-lateral-thinking-broad-approach-to/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [There is no other prize in any country that carries the prestige that a Nobel bestows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/there-is-no-other-prize-in-any-country-that-carries-the-prestige-that/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) > [My favourite book as a child was an old 'Newne's Children's Encyclopaedia' which my grandfather had bought just before World War II and donated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-marshall/my-favourite-book-as-a-child-was-an-old-newne-s-children-s/) [Barry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) [Explore all 19 Barry Marshall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-marshall/) ## More Diagnose quotes > [“THE MAXIMS OF MEDICINE Before you examine the body of a patient, Be patient to learn his story. For once you learn his story,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-maxims-of-medicine-before-you-examine-the-body-of-a-patient-be/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [Cameron: You can't diagnose that without a biopsy. House: Yes, we can, we treat it. If she gets better we know that we're right.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/house-md/cameron-you-can-t-diagnose-that-without-a-biopsy-house-yes-we-can-we/) [House MD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/house-md/) > [“If your doctor relies on blood and urine tests to diagnose and treat you, then you could be in serious trouble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/if-your-doctor-relies-on-blood-and-urine-tests-to-diagnose-and-treat/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“Diagnose Problems to Get at Their Root Causes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/diagnose-problems-to-get-at-their-root-causes/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“Troubleshooting the sickened human body was the most difficult task that I was ever given.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/troubleshooting-the-sickened-human-body-was-the-most-difficult-task/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“You can diagnose the disease, but God keeps the time frame secret.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-and-keith-desserich/you-can-diagnose-the-disease-but-god-keeps-the-time-frame-secret/) [Brooke and Keith Desserich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-and-keith-desserich/) > [“By studying as many crimes as we could, and through talking to the experts—the perpetrators themselves—we have learned to interpret those clues in much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/by-studying-as-many-crimes-as-we-could-and-through-talking-to-the/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [Let's not kid ourselves. Whatever we diagnose, most patients, if they don't die, get well by themselves. Our job is mainly to try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-frolov/let-s-not-kid-ourselves-whatever-we-diagnose-most-patients-if-they/) [Diane Frolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-frolov/) > [Jaundice is the disease that your friends diagnose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/jaundice-is-the-disease-that-your-friends-diagnose/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [You can't really accurately diagnose someone, I think. Or I've been told that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/you-can-t-really-accurately-diagnose-someone-i-think-or-i-ve-been/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [You cannot solve a problem unless you diagnose the problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/you-cannot-solve-a-problem-unless-you-diagnose-the-problem/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure you're not surrounded by idiots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-you-diagnose-yourself-with-depression-or-low-self-esteem-first/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sepsis is a difficult thing to diagnose and one's default really should be to rule it out first. Sepsis should be at the top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-watkins/sepsis-is-a-difficult-thing-to-diagnose-and-one-s-default-really/) [Jason Watkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-watkins/) > [Never diagnose a (client) until after their therapy is over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/never-diagnose-a-client-until-after-their-therapy-is-over/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [When you're trained in medicine and it's the '80s and you've got all this hi-tech stuff and this ability to diagnose everything, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-birx/when-you-re-trained-in-medicine-and-it-s-the-80s-and-you-ve-got-all/) [Deborah Birx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-birx/) [Browse all 16 Diagnose quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diagnose/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In medical school, it's quite possible to get taught that you can diagnose everybody and treat everything. 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