Forum 3 -Abbi Herrold

What is the key concept of the doctor patient relationship? How can trust between the doctor and patient achieved?

The key concept to this relationship is the consultation. The consultation is the central moment and often the beginning of the doctor patient relationship, it brings together the experiences and illness of the patient and the   experience and expertise of the doctor. Trust can between the doctor and patient can be created by valuing each other their as individuals with their own knowledge and experience. Additionally, the doctor and patient must both accept each other. 

Why must the doctor’s approach be holistic?

A holistic approach is important to make sure the doctor/practitioner does not overlook the impact of the individual on the diagnoses and vice versa. This approach recognizes that the disease/diagnosis does not live in a test tube but that it can be impacted by and/or impact the environment, experience, and personality of the patient. It also acknowledges that the function of the physician and their communication skills are key in the treatment/healing of the disease. This approach makes emphasizes that treatment is more than just a medication or empirical evidence, it values relationships, individual experience, and environment as well. 

What is the process of consultation analysis? Why is it important for managing the patient’s situation?

There are two basic methods of consultation analysis. The first is the "Inner Consultation" which is a  five stage mode which consists of connecting with the patient and developing rapport, followed by summarizing the patients reasons for being at the consultation, creating and sharing a management plan, making a contingency plan, and finally once the patients leaves the doctor conducts housekeeping work and ensures they are in the right state of mind for the next patient. The other method is known as the "Silverman's Calgary Cambridge method" which is based off of the previously mentioned model, however it goes into more detail of how these things should be done. Silverman's model is widely used for training purposes as it thoroughly breaks down the steps of consultation to future doctors and clinicians. This consultation is important to make sure that the doctor is making the correct diagnosis, knows the feelings of the patient and previous conceptions the patient has about the presenting problem/diagnosis, to create a plan of treatment, and to ensure that plan of treatment is desirable and comfortable for both the patient and the clinician.