A Doctor's Most Important Skill

It was just a few weeks ago that I took my Family Medicine Boards again.  It's a test that is supposed to see if family doctors know all the stuff they are supposed to.  You don't need to take the test to practice medicine, but you do need to do so to claim to be "Board Certified" (which I am currently and hope to remain).  The test isn't easy and I think it is probably best at sorting out which doctors are willing to take time to read and study and stay current on medical developments.

Unfortunately, I am afraid that Board Exams aren't very good at discerning who are the good doctors out there.  There is one skill that I believe is the most important one necessary to diagnose a patient.  It is the ability to listen well.

Perhaps such a skill is natural in some people, but it can be developed in anyone.  Paying attention to a person's face, watching their hands, and listening, not only to what they are saying, but also to what they aren't saying, is crucial to learning what is really going on.

Listening does two things.  The first is that it helps a doctor learn the diagnosis.  Most patient will tell you the important things about what is wrong with them without a whole host of questions.

The second thing is even more important.  Good listening lets the other person know that you care and that you will work with them to get the best care for them possible.

Good doctors don't need to know everything about every disease and illness -- there are books and specialists to consult for tough situations -- but they need to get the important information to get a patient to the right place to get them better.

I know I can do better, but it is my goal to listen and to hear the messages that my patients share with me.

Because listening is where it starts.

Evicting Peeps!

"How have your sugars been doing, Linda?"  I asked the older lady sitting across from me.

"Well, I will tell you the truth," she said, a little sheepishly.  "I got some marshmallow Peeps last week and I opened the package to let them get just a little stale."

"So, yesterday, I went in to check on them and they were just the perfect amount of staleness!" (I heard in her voice the sound of a wine connoisseur describing a fine vintage).  "I just couldn't help myself!  I ate the whole package, all ten of them!"

"I guess it isn't surprising, but my sugar was 263 last night," she finished.  Then, almost defiantly, "But I think it was worth it!"

I suppose it goes without saying, but marshmallow peeps are not on any diabetic diet that I've discovered to this point.  Their nutritional value is actually less than zero.  And yet, for those who like them (I am one), they are a definite temptation.

People with diabetes probably shouldn't buy food that will push their sugars in the 260s.  What is in your cabinets will eventually be consumed (barring a Peep Burglar breaking in to steal them).

I suppose it is pretty obvious, but each one of us struggles with different temptations.  For many, the thought of eating ten peeps is a nauseating one, bordering on torture.  For others, it is something that is difficult to resist.

Still, I have found it easier to resist eating the Peeps at Walmart than in my home...

Obviously, there are a lot worse temptations out there than marshmallows and sugar.  So often, the beginning of victory over temptation is simply the realization that something is a temptation that is too hard to resist.  The next step is to avoid it.  Giving it room in our homes is merely the beginning of defeat.

Time to evict those Peeps from the cabinet!

"You Know Me!"

The older man was sitting in a chair when I walked into the exam room.  I had heard him coughing from outside, but when I walked in to the room, he lit up.  "I sure didn't think I would see you today," he said.  "I thought you was gone."

"No, not yet," I said.  "I hope it doesn't disappoint you that you aren't seeing someone else."

"Of course not," Paul answered quickly.  "You've been taking care of me for years.  I suppose you could probably fix me without my saying anything.  You just know me!"  He finished, as though that summed it all up.

As I sat down and started talking to him, I realized that he was exactly right.  I do know my patients.  I remember things from the past, both medical and non-medical.  That makes a huge difference.

When someone knows you, you don't have to explain yourself.  You don't have to tell the whole back story or narrate how you felt in the past, because they know.  They've been there with you before.

I think that is one of the most amazing things about prayer.  You are opening your heart to Someone who knows you. 

David said, in Psalm 139, "O Lord, you have searched me and known me!  You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar." 

You don't have to explain yourself when you are talking to God.  He knows where you are coming from and where you are headed.  He understands it all and more than that, He wants the best for you.

It is better, even than seeing a doctor you've known for sixteen years, to open your heart to One who knows and cares about you, who will never leave you or forsake you. 

In my darkest hours, He is the one I have always turned to and He has never let me down. 

He just knows me.

Whales and Earthworms

"What was your Bible verse for Sunday School this morning?"  I asked Vince and Elliot, who are currently in the same class.

"It was 'And God created great whales," Vince told me seriously.

"No, Dad, Vince is wrong, it was 'And God created little earth worms,'" Elliot said and began to laugh hysterically.

Well, perhaps strangely, it turned out that Vince was right.  In fact, there isn't a verse like the one Elliot quoted.

At the same time, we know that God did create giant whales and tiny earth worms -- and everything else we see.

It is fortunate, as well.  Any gardener will tell you that they would rather have 50 earth worms in their garden than a thousand Blue Whales.  (Now that would be a mess).

God created all things with a purpose, even you and me.  The important thing isn't our size, beauty, or intelligence, it is whether we are fulfilling that purpose that the Almighty has set for us to do.