{"id":45,"date":"2011-01-09T18:09:56","date_gmt":"2011-01-09T18:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/medicinetomoveyou\/2011\/01\/debating-the-need-for-a-health-conscious-doctor.html"},"modified":"2011-01-09T18:09:56","modified_gmt":"2011-01-09T18:09:56","slug":"debating-the-need-for-a-health-conscious-doctor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2011\/01\/debating-the-need-for-a-health-conscious-doctor.html","title":{"rendered":"Debating the Need for a Health Conscious Doctor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

On Jan 9, 2011<\/span>, Erin<\/span> commented on Unhealthy Doctors Don’t Make the Grade<\/span><\/p>\n

\n“Should patients expect their doctors to be living examples
\nof their life’s work? ”
\nI lose respect for people who are obviously lazy about their health, but
\nthis holds true for everyone. Doctors should not be held to a
\ndifferent standard.
\nYou laminate your lab results and show them to patients? I think this
\nis prideful at best and insulting at worst, as though they are a badge
\nof your good choices in life. If you are ever unfortunate enough to
\ndevelop something serious (diabetes, chronic kidney disease, cancer) and
\nthe gluten-free diet is not enough, I **wouldn’t** say it’s your own
\nfault and you should hand in your medical license. I would hope that
\nthe experience would strengthen your empathy toward your patients, that
\nit would make you a better doctor and not an imperfect and damaged one.
\nSome doctors might give excellent advice and take great care of
\npatients, but could have their own personal vices, such as smoking or
\nliking ice cream too much. So what? They are people too.
\nI’m happy you’re so healthy and that your style of medicine (gluten free
\nfor asthma and whatever else) works in the sphere of your own personal
\nhealth. But your health, or any doctor’s health, in no way affects my
\nopinion of how good or misguided you or they may be. Personally, I’ll
\ncontinue to judge my doctor by her empathy, intelligence, and the
\nquality her advice, not by whatever medical pitfalls she may or may not
\nrun into. I hope your readers do the same.<\/p>\n

My reply to Erin:<\/p>\n

Posts are inherently unable to capture all the details
\nnecessary to give an entire message.  <\/span>I
\ncould not agree with you more about having an empathetic, intelligent physician
\nat your side as you work through your health or disease.  <\/span>To clear up matters, my personal history of
\nhealth and disease is not picture perfect and the laminated labs mentioned in
\nthe post illustrate my laboratory abnormalities, some improving, some not so much.  <\/span>My life story is no different than the
\npatients I care for- diagnoses that changed my world and ‘treatment options’ that did not work for me. Many patients at our practice find credibility in that.  I also must actively work to modify those factors that contribute to my diagnoses through lifestyle choices that I do have today and now.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Actually during medical school and residency, I thoroughly
\nenjoyed my caffeinated sugary sodas as they washed down my one late night meal
\nconsisting of mega burritos and multi-pack tacos.  <\/span>I was diagnosed with insulin resistance
\nduring medical school and still had no idea that my lifestyle was the major
\ncontributing factor.  <\/span>I thought it was my
\ngenetics just coming into play as part of my medical destiny!  <\/span>I am not immune from the unhealthy cues
\npervading our society.<\/p>\n

How did I come to learn of another way of thinking?  <\/span>My patients thank goodness.  <\/span>By listening, I learned of some ‘natural’
\nways to manage disease and symptoms and consequently pursued higher education
\nof these therapies.  <\/span>Those early moments
\nof awareness are still clear in my memory and I utilize them to connect with
\npatients that desire a lifestyle-based approach to use less medication or feel
\nbetter with their disease or symptom.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Clearly, the acquisition of optimal health is not 100%
\nwithin our control and placing ‘blame’ or ‘judgment’ on another individual
\n(doctor or not) if they don’t or can’t achieve it is not the name of the
\ngame.  <\/span>Compassion is the operational tool
\nto understand a particular patient’s station in health or disease and guidance
\nthrough information and encouragement is the implementation strategy.  <\/span>The intent of the post is to challenge
\nreaders to define their stance when choosing their physician (especially those
\nthat manage your chronic diseases). 
\n<\/span>However you decide to weigh in on the matter, it’s progress when you make
\nyour choices with intention.  <\/span>In an ideal
\nworld, there is a perfect doctor for every patient.  <\/span>Here’s wishing you find one as close to your
\ndefinition of that ‘perfection’ as possible!<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Jan 9, 2011, Erin commented on Unhealthy Doctors Don’t Make the Grade “Should patients expect their doctors to be living examples of their life’s work? ” I lose respect for people who are obviously lazy about their health, but this holds true for everyone. Doctors should not be held to a different standard. You…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":220,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-embrace-change","category-mindful-medicine"],"yoast_head":"\nDebating the Need for a Health Conscious Doctor - Medicine to Move You<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2011\/01\/debating-the-need-for-a-health-conscious-doctor.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Debating the Need for a Health Conscious Doctor - Medicine to Move You\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Jan 9, 2011, Erin commented on Unhealthy Doctors Don’t Make the Grade “Should patients expect their doctors to be living examples of their life’s work? ” I lose respect for people who are obviously lazy about their health, but this holds true for everyone. Doctors should not be held to a different standard. You…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2011\/01\/debating-the-need-for-a-health-conscious-doctor.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medicine to Move You\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-01-09T18:09:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr. Shilpa P. 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