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By Michele Howe.

Your doctor wants to see you happy and from the moment you enter an exam room, the attention is centered on you as the patient. Your physician takes notes of your symptoms, your pain, and every medical reason for being in his office. As he listens, your doctor is also making mental notes on how to best diagnose and then treat your condition. He is developing a plan of action scripted just for you. It’s his job to help you get better and he’s happy to take on the role of caregiver.

Happy FacesWhat physicians aren’t happy about is when their patients ask for the impossible without taking personal responsibility to follow the step-by-step guidelines offered them.

It’s good to remember that once a doctor shares his recommendations and you come to an agreement, an essential exchange takes place. The responsibility has now shifted heavily toward you as the patient. When any individual seeks out medical assistance, the implication is that the sick person recognizes his need for expertise and intervention found solely through the insights and skills offered by a physician. However, what’s not so clearly stated is that the primary job of every patient is to see to it that he heeds the instructions given him by his health care provider.

Never forget – both you and your physician work toward the same ultimate goal of optimal good health.

Dr. Christopher A. Foetisch, orthopedic surgeon at the Toledo Clinic, offers some practical suggestions on what make doctors smile. Read on to discover if you’re adding to or subtracting from your physician’s happiness factor.

Your physician will be Happy if you have –

1. Reasonable expectations – Understand that your pain, your problems very likely did not occur overnight. Multi-layered health issues frequently require multi-layers solutions and cures, all of which can take time to unravel.

2. Motivation – Accept and anticipate that the bulk of the responsibility for regaining good health (and maintaining it) falls to you once you begin the process.

3. Self-accountability – Come to your physician’s office seeking expert advice and medical help, not expecting someone to come look over your shoulder every minute of every day.

Your physician will be Unhappy if you –

1. Have unrealistic expectations – Doctors are not miracle workers and they must work with both your past and present illnesses/injuries. Your health habits and lifestyle practices can limit how much of a difference a physician can make.

2. Are looking for the quick fix – No one wants to be sick or injured, but wishing it away won’t alter the fact that most medical issues require stretches of time to heal. Your doctor can’t make your body heal quicker than it can.

3. Are unwilling to invest in your own health – It’s your body, your life that’s in jeopardy. Don’t frustrate your physician’s efforts by failing to do your part by giving all the effort you can to grow strong.

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Michele Howe is a reviewer for Publishers Weekly, FaithfulReader.com, Retailers + Resources, Foreword Magazine, TeenReads.com, KidReads.com, among many others national and international publications. She has published over 3000 reviews/articles and has been featured on numerous radio shows across the country speaking on topics such as parenting and a diverse range of women's health issues. Her work has been published in MORE, FIRST for Women, Good Housekeeping, Christianity Today, Discipleship Journal, Midwest Living, Parentlife, Fullfill, Christian Single, Single Parent Family, Focus on the Family, PRISM, and Connections. She also does manuscript reviewing for several publishing houses including New Growth Press.

Michele is the author of twenty books for women. Her first book, "Going It Alone: Meeting the Challenges of Being a Single Mom" (Hendrickson Publishers), provided hope and practical helps for single moms new to parenting solo. She has also authored "Pilgrim Prayers for Single Mothers" (Pilgrim Press) and a third book of helps for single mothers titled, "Successful Single Moms" (Pilgrim Press.) In addition to these resources for single mothers, Michele wrote four separate titles combining real life stories with inspirational prayer retreats. These titles published by (Jossey-Bass) include: "Prayers for Homeschooling Moms," "Prayers to Nourish a Woman's Heart," "Prayers of Comfort and Strength" and "Prayers for New and Expecting Moms."

Her more recent books include a follow-up resource to "Going It Alone" titled, "Still Going It Alone: Mothering with Faith and Finesse Once the Children Have Grown" (Hendrickson Publishers) and "Burdens Do a Body Good: Meeting Life's Challenges with Strength and Soul" co-authored with orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Christopher A. Foetisch (Hendrickson Publishers).

One Size Fits All: Making Meaningful Choices, Stepping Into a Meaningful Life was released in early 2013 by Lighthouse of the Carolinas. Burden Lifters: Every Woman's Every Day Resource Kit for a Healthy, Happy Life was released by Bondfire Books in late 2013 and ACTA Publications released, "Faith, Friends, and Other Floatation Devices" which is a compilation of stories, quotes, and practical lifestyle recommendations for "staying afloat" during life's toughest times. Her newest book, Empty Nest, What's Next? Parenting Adult Children Without Losing Your Mind was published fall of 2015. In the fall of 2016, "Caring for Aging Parents: Lessons in Love, Loss, and Letting Go" was released by Hendrickson Publishers. Summer of 2017, her sequel to Empty Nest, What's Next? was published, Preparing, Adjusting, and Loving the Empty Nest. In 2018, There's a Reason They Call It Grandparenting and Navigating the Friendship Maze were released. In September 2018, Living Bravely: 52 Week Super Incredible Faith Devotional will also be published.

 

Read more of Michele's work at michelehowe.wordpress.com and contact Michele at: [email protected].

For more information, please visit michelehowe.wordpress.com

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