Doctors don't know everything

SRP

SRP

Cathlete
I work in a Univerisity/hospital. Part of my job is to write stuff for the dean of the College of Medicine. This guy is an MD, PhD, MBA. His specialty and passion is obesity and diabetes, especially as they affect women. Okay. Now:

I'm working on a presentation about these topics. Part of it is to suggest solutions. In my first draft, I bring up whole foods - say people need to eat more of them. Get this.... in his written edits, he asks, "what are whole foods?"

Here's a doctor who advocates healthy eating and he doesn't know what whole foods are? Oh dear. And we wonder why obesity is such a difficult thing to overcome.

I haven't finished the second draft yet, but I will very politely explain what whole foods are.
 
Shannon,

I'm LOL! That is funny but allow me to suggest that he knows what a whole foods diet entails, but he likely isn't familiar with the term. I just asked my DH what a whole foods diet is and he said he never heard of it, so I asked him what he THOUGHT it would be and he was able to describe it exactly. It does seem odd though, that a doctor who specializes in obesity wouldn't be familiar with the term.

But you're right, doctors most certainly do NOT know everything....and I do know some that smoke:eek:

Michele
 
Doctors receive pretty much the same nutrition education as everyone else, plus, MAYBE 3-6 hours of additional classes. Many of them, if not most, don't know as much about nutrition as many folks on this forum. The exceptions are often chiropractors, acupuncturists, or any practitioners of 'alternative' or complementary medicine, because they tend to look at the whole person rather than just body parts and symptoms. For me, it's nice to talk to my acupuncturist about, for example, when to take probiotics and prebiotics when having to take antibiotics, because he has answers and suggestions the allopathic docs don't.
 
I'm also surprised at how little many doctor's know about exercise. I had a client who was a doctor and knew absolutely nothing about strength training and how it differed from cardio. And because DH is a Physical Therapist, I've met many other docs who really come across as clueless when it comes to exercise and diet. I've actually given a lot of advice to nurses and docs and am always surprised at how little many of them seem to know about exercise and nutrition(no offense to the nurses who post on here, I know many of you are really smart about this stuff). The exeptions I found were dieticians (of course) and a few Physical Therapists (including my husband but I believe he knows so much about nutrition is because he is a vegan).

c.
 
What you're saying is true, however, you're talking about a profession where they have to know so much and they can't possibly know everything. Medicine, whether you think it's good or bad, has become highly specialized (there are sub specialties within specialties...OMG who can keep up!?). Doctors and nurses tend to be experts in a given field and lack in-depth knowledge in other areas. I think the role of the physician is to recognize when dietary help is needed and to refer the patient accordingly. My heavens, I can tell you that my DH has about 5000 active patient files and he certainly doesn't have time to manage the diets of all these people! Which brings me to the next kink in the wheel here. Doctors are just too %%^(*&^ busy.

Michele:)
 
That's for your insight, Michele.

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Mark Twain ;-)
 
Is it possible that he knows what they are, but his comment was aimed at getting you to define and explain that term more clearly and fully?
 
As a nurse it annoys me that many doctors, esp. the ones who specialize in internal medicine are clueless when it comes to nutrition. Patients look to their doctor for advice on losing weight, controlling hypertension, and diabetes, and diet plays a big part. I developed gestational diabetes when pregnant with my first DD and I was very fortunate to have an obstetrician who had a dietican in his group. In fact, he referred all pregnant women to her. I thought that was common practice with all obstetricians, but after talking to pregnant friends I was shocked to learn it's not.

With obesity being such an epidemic in this country it seems rather obvious that the way our current medical system is delivered isn't working. I wish more doctors focused on preventative medicine, of which diet and exercise plays a big part.
 
Why do people think doctors need to be experts on everything?

If a person needs nutritional advvice, they can be refferred to a nutritionist.

If they need exercise advise they can go to several professionals who can advise them.

If a person needs medical advice, then they can seek the advice of their internist. And if more a more specific medical consultation is needed, then a specialist can be consulted.

There is too much for any single doctor to know about the amazing human body. In a nutshell this is why helath related professions are essential to good team health care.

Judy "Likes2bfit"


If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.



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>Why do people think doctors need to be experts on
>everything?

The problem is, doctors already give nutritional advice without knowing that much about nutrition.

I actually think that each and every one of use should be experts about ourselves, and not rely on doctors to know everything. We should education ourselves, and make use of the expertise (limited as it is) of health professionals as needed. Unfortunately, there are too many people, IMO, who are just into "give me a pill or cut something off and let me continue to do what I've been doing without asking me to change my lifestyle or nutrition."

I've seen it too often: a former secretary at work, who was first pre-diabetic (obvious to me from her diet and her weight), then full-blown diabetic. Instead of controlling it with nutrition, which is completely possible in type 2 diabetes, she takes a pill, then eats highly processed, sugar-laden cake!
 
I'm not so sure he doesn't know what whole foods are. With his credentials, he has to know what comprises a healthy diet. We have long called our diets clean around here. Whole foods has only recently entered my vocabulary. Doctors cannot know everything but one with his speciality must know how to prevent diabetes and obesity, particularly if it's his passion. I would guess he knows more about nutrition than the average doctor. How could he not? I think he knows what whole foods are and describes them in different terms.
Bobbi "Chicks rule!"http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/tiere/animal-smiley-032.gif
Tell me what you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? -Mary Oliver
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