Particularly in 2014 ,I felt more & more patients have been expressing themselves in medical terms.
"Doc,I have sinus..I have bent nasal bone"..
"I have chest congestion"
This could have been expressed as headache,facial pain or nose block or a difficulty in breathing.
In medical school,we were taught to take a history which is asking symptoms like pain in ear/throat,block,discharge and so on..
Then we need to examine & look for signs of the disease.
A combination of signs, symptoms & clinical examination leads to a diagnosis.
This diagnosis can be final or provisional.
In provisional diagnosis ,we need further tests or another visit for a final diagnosis.
Patients should lead us to diagnosis rather than expressing the diagnosis themselves.
Another new in the passing year is the stress on time spent.This is not dependent on the successful diagnosis reached.
The same symptoms will be told by patients in various ways & it eventually means the same to me.Hence sometimes,I may have to stop them & come to the diagnosis & treatment.
Even a viral cold needs attention & empathy.However due to the pressure of seeing various patients,some having tumor or cancer or disability, I am hard pressed to spend less time with above patients.
In the treatment- things like after food or before food tablet is necessary.If I miss it patients do ask repeatedly & its fine.
Look at following questions I have been repeatedly asked:
Salt warm water gargles is with common salt/iodised/rock salt?
How to take steam inhalation?
To apply ointment over skin before food or after food ?
Sometimes in practice these questions can be annoying.
Probably I am from old school of thought.
I do understand that except boiling water,there are various options for steaming available now like an electric steamer or sauna!
Lets stand together & hope even better relationship with patients in the coming year....
Google and internet searches are also required.Search Engine optimization is also there....Be careful on fully trusting all information on the net.
"Doc,I have sinus..I have bent nasal bone"..
"I have chest congestion"
This could have been expressed as headache,facial pain or nose block or a difficulty in breathing.
In medical school,we were taught to take a history which is asking symptoms like pain in ear/throat,block,discharge and so on..
Then we need to examine & look for signs of the disease.
A combination of signs, symptoms & clinical examination leads to a diagnosis.
This diagnosis can be final or provisional.
In provisional diagnosis ,we need further tests or another visit for a final diagnosis.
Patients should lead us to diagnosis rather than expressing the diagnosis themselves.
Another new in the passing year is the stress on time spent.This is not dependent on the successful diagnosis reached.
The same symptoms will be told by patients in various ways & it eventually means the same to me.Hence sometimes,I may have to stop them & come to the diagnosis & treatment.
Even a viral cold needs attention & empathy.However due to the pressure of seeing various patients,some having tumor or cancer or disability, I am hard pressed to spend less time with above patients.
Look at following questions I have been repeatedly asked:
Salt warm water gargles is with common salt/iodised/rock salt?
How to take steam inhalation?
To apply ointment over skin before food or after food ?
Sometimes in practice these questions can be annoying.
Probably I am from old school of thought.
I do understand that except boiling water,there are various options for steaming available now like an electric steamer or sauna!
Lets stand together & hope even better relationship with patients in the coming year....
Google and internet searches are also required.Search Engine optimization is also there....Be careful on fully trusting all information on the net.
