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A GPs HEALTH AND FITNESS - A BOON TOWARDS MOTIVATION, COMPLIANCE AND CONVINCING THE PATIENT
OP KAPOOR
Ex. Hon. Physician, Jaslok Hospital and Bombay Hospital, Mumbai, Ex. Hon. Prof. of Medicine, Grant Medical College and JJ Hospital, Mumbai 400 008.
So often I use the sentence `if I can play tennis, with painful knee joints due to osteo-arthritis, at the age of 70 without taking NSAID pills, why should you take the pain killer for early osteo-arthritis of the knees, at the age of 50'?.
I can see that the patient is impressed by the statement and will now learn to live with osteo-arthritis of the knees with the help of exercise, heat therapy and oil massage. At other times, I rebuke and speak in a loud tone, "Why can't you take the help of GOD and remember Him in the form of Insha Allah, Hey Bhagwan, Hey Hanuman, etc. every time you experience pain, while sitting down or standing up or when you are sitting on the toilet seat? Remember, praying to GOD and remembering Him gives an inner strength to control the pain."
The fact is if your physical health, fitness and mental health is excellent, you can win motivation and compliance of the patient easily. If the doctor has a big paunch and is very fat, no fat patient will accept the diet which has been prescribed to him. If your tummy is normal but in shape and tone, you can always impress the patient. Advise the exercise "Touching the toes" 50-100 times every morning. It takes less than 5 minutes. It will help you to become shapely and protuberant abdomen will retract in 2-3 months.
The doctor who has kept an ash tray on his table, and is smoking, will never be able to motivate the patients to give up smoking.
In connection with AIDS, if a male patient gives the history of going out `by mistake', he should be explained that the mistake was because of the momentary sexual excitement, which could have been overcome immediately, by masturbation. And then add, `even at this age, if my wife is away for a few days or few weeks, I masturbate'.
If the doctor is spending 1-2 hours, to play games daily and regularly for physical fitness and spends sometime either in the club or with friends or watching the TV, for maintaining a good mental and social health, the patient could easily be motivated to do the same and change his life style.
The modern generation is getting busier day by day. With cellular phones, the business or office work starts right from early morning and continues throughout the day, and often till night. Remember, the average patient looks at the doctor and compares him to his GOD, his hero or his GURU, who helps him to reach GOD.
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