Archives: January 2005
Sun Jan 30, 2005
Things I Say That Help: Part 4
Last time I mentioned that the word doctor means 'teacher'. Actually the word comes from the Latin verb docere meaning 'to show'. The best teacher/doctors are those that show their patients things. More...
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Sat Jan 29, 2005
Things I Say That Help: Part 3
It is always important, in talking to patients, to find something positive to say. It's easy when the patient loses weight and does well. But sometimes things don't go so well, and then it is even more important to find something to praise. I assure you that if the tone of the interview is negative, the patient will not perform and may not return. That does not mean to praise behavior that is not praiseworthy; you don't want to damage your credibility. But you can always find something to praise. And give the praise in a forthright manner. Don't precede it with "Well at least . . . "
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Wed Jan 19, 2005
The New Gov't Diet Guidelines
The US Department of Agriculture teamed up with the US Department of Health to revise the flawed 1992 USDA Food Guide Pyramid. The Agriculture Secretary on TV said that developing the guidelines was a "political process". I wonder why it was not a scientific process? The new guidelines were presented as a block of prose instead of the more memorable pyramid-format. More...
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Fri Jan 07, 2005
Things I Say That Help: Part 2
While the first visit is taken up with me talking, the second visit consists of asking the patient questions. If the patient was very successful in losing weight, I am trying to learn how they did it, and which parts of my first visit-presentation were the most useful. No doctor should be too proud to learn from patients. They are the best source of information. More...
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