Let’s start with the basics

Enough people have asked me to put my mind to paper, that I guess it’s time I started trying to express myself in a more thoughtful manner.  I admit that this is my first attempt at Blogging, so I can only ask that you bear with me to begin with if my style needs a little finessing.  By all means, leave your thoughts and advice, but, hey, let’s try to be nice, at least in the early days!

Before starting this process, I spent some time wracking my brain for subjects that would be a) topical, b) interesting and c) that I had a legitimate right to have an opinion on.  That said, we live in interesting times, and if anyone ever wants me to cover a particular issue or debate, then please feel free to suggest them at any time.

I thought I would start off with the basics.  By which I mean, how well do we really remember knowing nothing? At the start. When we had an entire degree ahead of us, and in some cases no real knowledge of the body whatsoever.  Not even the basics I guess. Welcome to the world of the patient. I know this idea comes up regularly, but whenever I talk to people about it, the level of empathy I sense is often…lacking.

Let me give you an example.  A geologist. A man who is fairly well educated, has a degree, a few years of life experience and a good idea of current affairs. Now ask this man what he understands by “the nervous system”. His answer – the nervous system is the thing that makes us nervous.  It is possibly a metaphysical thing that exists as electricity in the body, influenced by brain waves. Um, actually, he’s not really sure. Never given it too much thought. But it might be something like that…right?

If you had a patient in front of you, and started to talk about nerves in the body, how basic would you go? Would you guess that this man could be so totally ignorant? Can you empathise with such a complete lack of knowledge, given the depth to which you have been trained? Is such a silly example ever likely?

Well, truth be told, this person was me before I started my training.  For reasons of the British educational system, I had never studied biology beyond the basics of GCSE, and yes, I had a lot to learn.  But I existed in this state, and it is memory of this misconception that always brings me down to earth. I am unlikely to be unique. Everyone starts with nothing, and for us to assume otherwise is a massive mistake. Always start with the basics.  If your patient knows more, great! Your job becomes a little easier. Then all you have to worry about is misinterpretation of facts, bias, misremembering and know-it-alls. A whole other subject.

Never assume. Start with basic building blocks of knowledge and work upwards. Keep it simple where possible. Don’t try to sound clever. Follow these basic steps in explaining things to patients, and you will make a worried person feel more stable. A sceptical person more convinced. An ignorant person more confident. And all will appreciate you more, whether they realise it or not.