Blog: Whole Healer
Our medical culture is not kind to its practitioners. It’s my belief that we can change that culture, but only after changing ourselves. How do we do that? By managing our minds, becoming aware of the limiting beliefs handed to us in our medical training, and changing the beliefs that don’t serve us as we do the work of caring for others.
The Love Is Free
I remember asking a new patient I’d just put on an antidepressant to come back and see me within two weeks and again after she’d been on the medication for six weeks.
“Why, so you can make more money off me?”
An Honest Answer
When a patient was very late for an appointment (basically, they missed the appointment because they arrived more than 15 minutes late,) someone from our front office staff would often come back and ask if we would still see the patient. When I said, “Yes,” as I most...
Stop Saying “Yes”
Once upon a time, doctors wrote short notes about their patients so they would remember what they’d been thinking about when the patient was last seen. They’d write down the symptoms, the physical exam, and the diagnosis and treatment plan. Enough so they or one of...
Take A Breath
Once when I was a resident, I rotated with a brilliant specialist for a month. He was funny, didn’t suffer fools gladly, and he was very good to his patients. One day we walked briskly to the door of one of his exam rooms. He pulled the patient chart from the holder...
The Visit Includes The Charting
I had a colleague once, when I was working at a residency, who gave what I thought was great advice to the residents with regard to the EMR: “Write a crappy note now, or a crappier note later.” Now, I know this is not what you want to hear, but truthfully, is your...