“You guys make me sick!”
Medicine is a science that has been improving and advancing for thousands of years. It has enabled us to cure diseases and modify and ease the symptoms of diseases that are not yet curable, resulting in people living longer and healthier lives.
But the application of that science is an Art which is learned and developed from years of experience.
About two months before my class was about to graduate medical school, the Dean of Students, Dr. McDavis, took all 110 fourth-year medical students into an auditorium and said “you guys make me sick!” At first, none of us understood what he was talking about. He then went on to say, “If the x-ray doesn’t show it, if the CAT scan doesn’t show it, if the blood tests don’t show it, I guess you are just going to have to examine your patients!”
The true Art of Medicine is the history and physical examination. You should never order a test to make a diagnosis. You order a test to confirm your impression, after you’ve taken a history, completed a full physical, and established a differential diagnosis. If the result of the test surprises you, you made a mistake, or missed something on your history or physical exam.
What Dr. McDavis was saying is that the history and physical examination is the Art of medicine. He was teaching us not to rely only on tech and machines. Many mistakes happen and are made when practicing that way.
At MyMd we practice the “Art of Medicine”. Patients are seen at the time they are scheduled. They sit down with me in my consultation room and a full history is taken, which includes the history of the current illness, past medical history, social history, and a review of systems. Then a full physical examination is performed. Afterwards, they come back to my consultation room, where we sit and discuss the findings, the diagnosis, and the treatment.
That is how I practice medicine. The experience I bring to my Concierge practice of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases in Bay Harbor Islands allows me to take time with each patient. This is so important! I care enough to listen, ask questions, do a complete examination, make a diagnosis, and then confirm my diagnosis with a test, if necessary.
