http://www.docfletch.com/words-that-heal Be Great! Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:44:53 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 http://www.docfletch.com/words-that-heal/comment-page-1#comment-48 dc Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:01:56 +0000 http://www.docfletch.com/?p=427#comment-48 It is comforting to know that the person you are trusting with your life will always be truthful and honest with you. It is a very fine balancing act, as telling a patient what you think they want to hear will only begin to erode the trust and it won't be long before that patient figures it out, and is gone. Sometimes the truth hurts, and that is where the kindness aspect becomes more important. I have been to doctors who will tell you the truth of your medical condition in such a manner that leaves you with feelings of blame, incompetence, inadequacy and the lowest of self-esteem. By the same token, I can only admire the chiropractor who can honestly assess a patient and tell them honestly that they can, or even cannot help them. The cannot is important, as it would be only too easy for an unscrupulous doctor to lead a patient along, week after week, month after month, collecting fees, knowing full well the patient's condition will not improve while the patient waits for the miracle that will never come. I am one of the lucky ones; I have complete faith in my chiropractor's abilities and integrity. Having personal knowledge of the fact that he will indeed tell a patient if the condition is beyond his abilities to help allows me to trust that the information I am given is the truth, spoken with certainty and kindness. I never worry about referring people to my chiropractor as I know they will always be treated with professionalism, respect and kindness - if anything, I worry about how my referrals will treat my chiropractor!! It is comforting to know that the person you are trusting with your life will always be truthful and honest with you. It is a very fine balancing act, as telling a patient what you think they want to hear will only begin to erode the trust and it won’t be long before that patient figures it out, and is gone. Sometimes the truth hurts, and that is where the kindness aspect becomes more important. I have been to doctors who will tell you the truth of your medical condition in such a manner that leaves you with feelings of blame, incompetence, inadequacy and the lowest of self-esteem. By the same token, I can only admire the chiropractor who can honestly assess a patient and tell them honestly that they can, or even cannot help them. The cannot is important, as it would be only too easy for an unscrupulous doctor to lead a patient along, week after week, month after month, collecting fees, knowing full well the patient’s condition will not improve while the patient waits for the miracle that will never come. I am one of the lucky ones; I have complete faith in my chiropractor’s abilities and integrity. Having personal knowledge of the fact that he will indeed tell a patient if the condition is beyond his abilities to help allows me to trust that the information I am given is the truth, spoken with certainty and kindness. I never worry about referring people to my chiropractor as I know they will always be treated with professionalism, respect and kindness – if anything, I worry about how my referrals will treat my chiropractor!!

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