A doctor's visit can be stressful and somewhat overwhelming. Learning proactive ways to maximize your visit with your doctor will help you partner with your doctor for optimal health benefits. I have been a Board Certified Psychiatrist for 20 years. Ive spent much of my professional career caring for patients of all ages. Over and over I listen to people tell me they have been frustrated while at their doctors office. The overwhelming reason for patients frustration has stemmed from feeling like they were not listened to. This includes by the doctor, the nurse, the receptionist. It could involve sitting for a long time in a crowded waiting room. Of course when someone feels they have not been listened to, they feel like they are not validated and not understood. Ive walked both sides of the fence. Ive been a patient more than once; more commonly Ive had a waiting room full of people to see- people to care for- people I really needed to listen to.
And with the time constraints of modern practice, imposed by bureaucracy, paperwork, phone calls- routine and emergency, it takes a lot of conscious effort to see that each and every person feels listened to and cared for. And decisions made about patient care directly reflect that act of proactive listening. I want to help you when you enter your doctors office. I want you to get the most out of your doctor visit. I can share with you things that people Ive cared for have done that have been of great help to me in my efforts to help them. First, in a followup visit, do your ABSOLUTE best to focus on one major topic. Your followup visit is generally a 5-10 minute visit, but the same principles apply for a 30 or even 60 minunte appointment. I can remember so many time people would tell me very important information in the last few minutes of a 30 minute appointment. And we had already agreed on a course of action before this new important information came up!
Had I known this vitally important bit of info, our entire treatment plan would have changed! But, you may say, I have a complex disorder that involves many different organs- for example, my heart, my lungs etc�.need to be discussed today. It is the way we organize and present our thoughts and symptoms that will make all the difference. It is easy if you know that your symptoms are all related to a condition for which you have been diagnosed: You may say.. �Doctor, I feel like my fibromyalgia is really acting up.� And in 30-60 seconds, you can list all the symptoms of fibromyalgia that have been bothering you recently. This will leave the entire visit to talk about solutions and strategies to help you feel better. �In this not uncommon scenario, 10 minutes have elapsed and the patient is just getting warmed up, the doctor is trying to be empathic but doesnt know where to begin.
To do a thorough review of all organ systems with this patient would take over an hour. And the waiting room is full already! Lets review the language doctors are trained in: First, doctors are trained to write down a patients CHIEF COMPLAINT: in one sentence, in the patients own words: THIS IS HARD! But if its hard for you, can you imagine how difficult it is for your doctor? As patients, we know our bodies the best. We are with ourselves 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. And you may have spent weeks talking to your friends and family about how you are feeling and what has been bothering you. And you have minutes to effectively summarize this for your doctor. In an earlier example, an astute individual knew fibromyalgia was acting up. In a lot of cases, we DO NOT know what our symptoms mean. So what if 4 or 5 things are really bothering us? What is our chief complaint? This content was generated by Essay Freelance Writersversion!
A doctor's visit can be stressful and somewhat overwhelming. Learning proactive ways to maximize your visit with your doctor will help you partner with your doctor for optimal health benefits. I have been a Board Certified Psychiatrist for 20 years. Ive spent much of my professional career caring for patients of all ages. Over and over I listen to people tell me they have been frustrated while at their doctors office. The overwhelming reason for patients frustration has stemmed from feeling like they were not listened to. This includes by the doctor, the nurse, the receptionist. It could involve sitting for a long time in a crowded waiting room. Of course when someone feels they have not been listened to, they feel like they are not validated and not understood. Ive walked both sides of the fence. Ive been a patient more than once; more commonly Ive had a waiting room full of people to see- people to care for- people I really needed to listen to.
And with the time constraints of modern practice, imposed by bureaucracy, paperwork, phone calls- routine and emergency, it takes a lot of conscious effort to see that each and every person feels listened to and cared for. And decisions made about patient care directly reflect that act of proactive listening. I want to help you when you enter your doctors office. I want you to get the most out of your doctor visit. I can share with you things that people Ive cared for have done that have been of great help to me in my efforts to help them. First, in a followup visit, do your ABSOLUTE best to focus on one major topic. Your followup visit is generally a 5-10 minute visit, but the same principles apply for a 30 or even 60 minunte appointment. I can remember so many time people would tell me very important information in the last few minutes of a 30 minute appointment. And we had already agreed on a course of action before this new important information came up!
Had I known this vitally important bit of info, our entire treatment plan would have changed! But, you may say, I have a complex disorder that involves many different organs- for example, my heart, my lungs etc�.need to be discussed today. It is the way we organize and present our thoughts and symptoms that will make all the difference. It is easy if you know that your symptoms are all related to a condition for which you have been diagnosed: You may say.. �Doctor, I feel like my fibromyalgia is really acting up.� And in 30-60 seconds, you can list all the symptoms of fibromyalgia that have been bothering you recently. This will leave the entire visit to talk about solutions and strategies to help you feel better. �In this not uncommon scenario, 10 minutes have elapsed and the patient is just getting warmed up, the doctor is trying to be empathic but doesnt know where to begin.
To do a thorough review of all organ systems with this patient would take over an hour. And the waiting room is full already! Lets review the language doctors are trained in: First, doctors are trained to write down a patients CHIEF COMPLAINT: in one sentence, in the patients own words: THIS IS HARD! But if its hard for you, can you imagine how difficult it is for your doctor? As patients, we know our bodies the best. We are with ourselves 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. And you may have spent weeks talking to your friends and family about how you are feeling and what has been bothering you. And you have minutes to effectively summarize this for your doctor. In an earlier example, an astute individual knew fibromyalgia was acting up. In a lot of cases, we DO NOT know what our symptoms mean. So what if 4 or 5 things are really bothering us? What is our chief complaint? This content was generated by Essay Freelance Writersversion!