What doctors really want to tell their patients - includes related articles

1. "Take charge of your body and learn ways to keep it healthy."

"Please do not abuse your health by expecting antibiotics and other medicines to be prescribed for you with every minor illness," says Harold Schutte, M.D., of Asheville, North Carolina. "Instead, be good to your body by developing positive health habits that include proper nutrition, exercise, and sleep consistent with your age. If you commit to such a lifestyle, I will help to guide you in reaching your goals. We can enjoy a mutually rewarding relationship. The dividends for you are improved health care at an affordable cost.

"It is expected and should be insisted on that as your physician I will treat you with respect and common courtesy. Your health will be my primary concern. To provide you with the best of care I will maintain my skills by keeping up-to-date through continuing education and appropriate consultation with my colleagues. Prevention as well as treatment will be my goal.

"I expect you to accept my recommendations with confidence that I am providing for you the best care that is available."

2. "Communicate with me."

"Be honest - help me understand your needs and expectations. Tell me what is going on in your life," Sherry Brooks, M.D., of Orlando, Florida, says. "Are there issues that are impacting upon you that may be contributing to your illness, such as family problems or financial pressures?

"It is important that you understand and follow my recommendations in order to recover from illness and maintain good health, but it is more important that our relationship be characterized by mutual respect, honesty, and openness."

3. "Don't neglect or abuse your body."

"It seems that physicians are perceived as expert service-and-repair professionals for human bodies, bodies that are too often neglected and even abused," comments Charles Miller, M.D., of Oakwood, Georgia. "The ill effects of injurious practices, such as the use of tobacco and alcohol, contribute substantially to the toll of disease and disability. To expect that the physician's knowledge and willful use of medications and procedures are entirely capable of reversing the impact of harmful behaviors is unrealistic.

"It is true that people will become ill even while trying in every way to maintain good health, and sooner or later we all succumb to death. But your commitment to positive health practices, along with the support of your physician, offers the best opportunity for a long and healthful life."

4. "It is essential that we understand

each other."

"Please don't leave my office with questions in your mind regarding my understanding of your problem or my recommendations for your treatment," stresses Randy Tompkins, M.D., of Longwood, Florida.

"Do you know the name of your medication and how often to take it? Do you know what it is expected to accomplish and what side effects to anticipate?

"Do you understand why I have recommended surgery, what the procedure entails, and how long a recovery period to anticipate? Have you fully considered the alternatives to surgery?

"Do you know the date of your next appointment and understand the necessity for regular visits? Do you know how to reach me after office hours and how to obtain care when I am unavailable?

"If I am not offering information in a way that is clear to you, please tell me. I often use examples and metaphors, even silly stories, to try to explain complex medical issues. Help me be an effective communicator."

5. "Sometimes the most powerful

remedies are the simplest."

"Healthful rest and timely holidays from ordinary responsibility are often more beneficial than the most expensive medication or highly sophisticated medical therapy," says Roger Woodruff, M.D., of Spokane, Washington. Pills and nostrums, though certainly helpful when used appropriately, are certainly no cure-all.

6. "Be considerate of my colleagues

who are responsible for your care in my

absence."

"Understand that we doctors have the same responsibility to maintain our own personal health and well-being, and that this requires time away from the ongoing responsibilities of an active medical practice," adds Dr. Woodruff.

"You may be asked to provide additional information or to accommodate the covering physician's schedule, or even to be evaluated in an unfamiliar office or hospital. Be assured that I have entrusted your care to someone in whom I have confidence, someone who will offer you the same level of commitment and professionalism that you have come to expect from me."

7. "Don't be reluctant to tell me how

we're doing."

"Be open - don't neglect issues that have relevance to your health and to your satisfaction with our relationship," Dr. Woodruff says.

8. "Be careful. Be healthy. Be whole."

"I have been a practicing orthopedic surgeon for 20 years. During that period of time I have seen all kinds of people in all kinds of circumstances and would like to share three observations," says William Bunnell, M.D., of Loma Linda, California. "Be careful. I see many patients in serious difficulty with their health because of a lack of appreciation or, in some cases, total disregard for risk. No amount of pleasure could ever compensate for the long-term ravages of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and inappropriate sexual behavior.

"Be healthy. Proper diet, proper exercise, and a healthy mechanism for dealing with stress all add to the quality of life. There are many things under your direct control that help you maintain good health.

"Be whole. Life should be a well-integrated experience involving one's physical, mental, and spiritual being. Healthy interpersonal relationships, including family and friends, take us out of ourselves and keep us balanced. True happiness that rises above all circumstances can certainly not be found in any other way than a personal relationship with God. Being whole involves a decision to pursue these aspects of life."

How Doctors Feel

as Patients

You might say it's giving doctors a taste of their own medicine. Residents in family practice at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center spend their first day on the job as patients in the hospital. They're actually "diagnosed" with a serious illness, and are treated by doctors and nurses unaware of their true identities.

Physician Stephen Brunton, who directs family practice residency training at the hospital, got the idea for the unusual program after being hospitalized for an eye injury while still in medical school.

"I was so fearful of losing my sight, and the medical staff seemed indifferent," he says. "That brought home to me that the hospital is a totally different experience for physicians than it is for patients.

In the program, residents are coached on how to feign illness during their 18-hour stay. Resident Kelley Withy was admitted with "acute abdominal pains" and a "knee strain." She was hooked up to an IV - "I had no idea they were so painful," she says - and spent the next five hours waiting for her doctor.

"The worst were feelings of vulnerability and helplessness," Withy says. "The doctors would leave the curtains open and then pull up my gown. There is less respect for the patient as a person."

Residents who have been through the program say they are going to think twice before routinely ordering IVs and midnight medical tests, and have become more attentive to their patients' comfort.

COPYRIGHT 1993 Review and Herald Publishing Association
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group