So okay, it’s time to tell you about another great medical blog.

(Oh, goody.)
(What?)
(Nothing.)
(No, I wanna know. What’s your problem?)
(It’s nothing. Really. I’m thrilled.)
*
*
(Just sit there.)
(Fine.)

This one is called Dr. Val and the Voice of Reason. And yes, you’ve heard me mention her before. Dr. Val graciously hosted “Grand Rounds” last week, which is how I found her.

(That her picture?)
(Yes.)
(She’s cute.)
(This is really not the…)
(Kinda looks like Courtney Thorne Smith.)
(Yes.)
(I like Courtney Thorne Smith.)
(Everyone likes…)
(They could be sister’s.)
(I wouldn’t know about that.)
(I’m just saying.)
(Do you mind?)
(Sorry.)

It’s also one of the reasons it took me a while to get through last weeks’ submissions. I got distracted reading her blog.

(Not to mention, you’re a slow reader.)
(Yes, there’s that.)
(So, what’s so great about this one.)
(If you’ll shut-up, I’ll tell everyone.)
(Fine… proceed.)

What’s great about Dr. Val’s blog is that her posts cover a broad range of good general health topics. She’s smart, engaging and knows how to communicate to a diverse audience. In other words, most of her posts are written with the average consumer in mind. She doesn’t use a lot of technical jargon or talk over your head. And hey… she even draws her own cartoons.

(Is that one of hers.)
(Yes.)
(That’s funny.)
(Yes, it is.)
(The mouse is playing dead.)
(Yeah, I get it.)
*
*
(Is there more?)
(Yes.)
(Well… we’re listening.)
*
(You promise to just sit there?)
(Fine.)
*
*

Dr. Val is a licensed practitioner of Rehabilitation Medicine (a topic near and dear to my heart) and Senior Medical Director of the brand new Revolution Health web site… and that’s only the beginning of her long and eclectic resume.

(Do tell.)
(I will.)

Turns out she’s been a protestant minister, NYC bartender, bank spy, food critic,

(Wait a minute… did you say “Bank spy?”)
(Yes?)
(What’s a bank spy?)
(I have no idea.)
(Did she spy on banks, or…)
(I don’t know, it doesn’t say.)
(Okay… Sorry.)
*
*
(Can I continue?)
(Sure.)
*
*

… doctor, cartoonist, computer sales associate, yogurt mogul, nanny,

(Wait a minute… did you say, “Yogurt mogul?”)
(Yes.)
(What’s a…)
(Can we just get through this?)
(Sure. Sure.)
*
*

… motivational speaker, biophysics researcher,

(Was she the white spy or the black spy?)
*
*
*
(I’m just asking?)
*
*
*

… graphic designer and revolutionary medical director.

(Revolutionary?)
(That’s what it says.)
(What’s a…)
(I don’t know.)
*
*
*
(You could’ve asked.)
(Well, I didn’t.)
*
*
*
(I’m just saying.)
(Shut-up.)
*
*
*
*
*
(She is cute.)
(Yeah, we got that.)

***

I ran across an interesting item today entitled, Alarm Bells on the med blog, Reflections by Dr. Bruce Campbell. The original intent of the article was to encourage physicians to be fair in how they allocate their time between patients.

However, there are lessons to be learned for patients as well. After all, I hear from people all the time complaining that they don’t feel like they get enough attention from their doctor.

Maybe the answer is… if you want more attention from your doctor… try being a better patient.

Instead of complaining, insulting, demanding or fussing… try being warm and friendly. Instead of venting about all the things that are wrong with the medical profession (real or imagined)… try treating your doctor with friendship and respect.

You may be surprised at the result.

For example, Dr. Campbell references a quote from a recent article in New York Magazine:

In response to a question on how patients can get doctors to pay attention to them, a gynecologist responds, “The truth is, we’ll spend more time with patients we like. We’ll joke with them, we’ll laugh with them. You have fun with patients you like.” He implies that being charming pays benefits.

Doctors and Nurses are only human. They don’t try to play favorites or consciously ignore their patients. But let’s face it. Who would you rather spend time with? Who would you give the most attention to? The person with the negative attitude and a sour disposition? Or the person who is happy to see you and wants to know how your day is going?

Quick wrap-up:

Don’t use the precious little time your doctor has to spend with you discussing negative or irrelevant topics. Go in with a positive attitude and a friendly demeanor. Your doctor is going to see a lot of unhappy, unpleasant people that day. Be the one person who brightens his day and makes him (or her) glad they decided to go into medicine.

More often than not, you’ll be the person who gets a little extra time with the doc.

- Dean

*****

And btw, if you want to discuss what you don’t like about the medical profession or vent about healthcare issues, do what I do. Start reading (and commenting) on medical blogs. The healthcare professionals who create these blogs do so because they really CARE about making things better. They love blogging — it’s meant to be a social experience — and it’s a perfect chance to get some one-on-one time with the doctors and nurses who are shaping the future of modern medicine.

(And sometimes they talk about real icky stuff and it’s totally cool.)

***************

Here’s an interesting post I found while browsing through the Nursing blogs from this week’s “Change of Shift.” (See previous post.) It is by Judy of Tigger’s Don’t Jump and addresses the subject of Herbal Remedies: Effective or Risky?

The answer to that question, of course, is “it depends.”

It depends on WHICH herbal remedy. It depends on what else you’re taking. It depends on whether or not you take the herbal remedy instead of the effective medication your physician has prescribed.

Judy then goes through a list of common herbal remedies and offers a brief commentary on each. She concludes with this very good advice:

The most significant risk of herbal supplements is the risk that people might use them INSTEAD of effective medications. I had cancer several years ago. People I barely knew begged me to try various herbal supplements instead of the chemotherapy regimen recommended by my physicians. I did the research. The herbal supplements they recommended had been investigated by NIH and found to be useless. The chemo regimen had also been studied - in great detail - for many years and found to increase 5 year survival rates for cancer of the type and stage mine was from 55-65% with surgery alone to nearly 90% with chemo and radiation. Sort of a no-brainer there. It was hard for me to believe that people would not be convinced by the statistics, so I shared them with those who recommended herbs instead of chemo. They weren’t impressed.

Some herbs are safe, some aren’t. Some may help, some definitely won’t. Do the research — it’s out there. Look for actual research (peer-reviewed studies) as opposed to pure opinion. Ask your physician. If he or she isn’t familiar with the supplement, share your research. If you take prescription medications, make sure your doc knows what supplements you’re taking — and make sure your pharmacist knows too. It might save your life.

I’m not recommending any of the herbs Judy discusses in this post. That’s a decision you should make after discussing it with your doctor… and like Judy says… doing the research. I simply thought that she did an excellent job of presenting this material and that you might want to read this post and possibly check out the rest of her blog.

- Dean