LETTERS: DOCTORS SHOULD TALK TO PATIENTS

To the editor:

Why don't doctors take the time to listen to their patients anymore? And why isn't a physical exam a physical exam, consisting of a doctor examining a patient by touch?

I recently went for an office visit as a new patient. The exam included very little physical contact and even less verbal contact.

Here are a few excerpts from "The Voice of Illness." I have included them because the author expresses himself so much better than I could express myself:

"The word is at the very center of human nature, and the forming of words is the most basic function of the human organism. The word is not only the means by which man expresses his perceptions and experiences, it is an organic part of man. The human organism is verbal, and its basic tendency is to symbolize.

"In an encounter with illness, the function of the word is of central importance as the organism becomes sick and well again. ... One has to see beyond the language of signals to an essentially human use of words. The words we use to express the content of the encounter with illness serve not only to describe the illness, but also to convey the message of disease to others. The attempt is made to use words to that they create both wholeness and unity in the man who has gone to pieces. ... In Greek, the word symbol meant, among other things, that which re-establishes community between realities which belong together but have become separated. One may describe physical illness as an insanity of the body.

"The body always expresses the soul, in illness as much as in health.

"The body is the expression of the soul. The soul is the meaning of the body.

"The meaning of an organ and its function always transcends its physical element.

"Viewed in the light of illness, man appears as a being who is not the captain of his own ship."

According to the author, the function of words is to create unity in the human organism, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well.

Words are used as symbols, a form of communication. Contact is nonverbal communication.

Medical doctors today don't use contact or words. They use diagnostic tests. Diagnostic tests are a useful tool for showing the doctor the physical aspects of an illness, what has gone wrong on the physical level. They get to the root of the disease, and the medication treats it, but this doesn't treat the dis-ease felt by the person. The results of diagnostic testing show how the body is manifesting an imbalance. What they don't show is how a person is feeling. A sick person needs to talk about how he feels, with someone he trusts, to be able to help him.

When a doctor doesn't take the time to let a person tell of his illness, the person feels like a part of himself has been left untreated. A person who is ill needs someone to listen to him, not just treat his physical symptoms. The patient leaves the doctor's office feeling frustrated. His ailment has been treated, but his feelings have not been considered and his concerns have not been addressed.

I want a doctor who will not just test and treat, but touch and talk as well.

SANDRA FANN

Jackson