Last year, my high school aged son took an interest in healthy eating. He began examining nutrition labels and scrutinizing the foods that we routinely keep around the house and came up with a list of criticisms and suggestions — some well-founded, and others a bit extreme. At first, my wife and I were quick to debate him on certain choices like eliminating any breakfast cereal that has enough sugar not to taste like cardboard, but our eating chasm just widened, our advice was ignored, and he became more resolute in his views. Once we showed genuine interest in and openness to his ideas, he relaxed a bit, and we began to enjoy our family meals together much more. And we did not have to agree with him in order to relate more effectively.
I thought about this today shortly after my visit with Mrs. K, who I was seeing for malaise and fatigue. After we reviewed her normal blood tests and conversed for a few minutes about depression, she told me that she was planning to try B-complex and magnesium, a combination that a friend of hers had suggested. I am admittedly not a fan of alternative supplements like these when taken for issues for which they have no scientific credibility. But, as with my son, I have found that taking a hard line on this with patients is unhelpful, and sometimes alienating.
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