Turn Your Head and Cough
There is nothing more awkward than being alone in the room with your primary care doctor, having your “plums” grabbed, and politely asked to “turn your head and cough”. It is my experience with this phenomenon along with my Curious George like curiosity that led me to one evening, asking my uncle, the primary care doctor, why on earth you have to turn your head. What could this maneuver possibly do to help in the efforts to thwart and identify cancers of the testes?
The answer, simple; “You don’t want to have the patient cough in your face, so we ask patients to point their cough away from us.”
It was so simple! It blew my mind how simple the answer was. It got me thinking, why did it take me over 20 years to figure out only one of many questions I had for primary care doctors. Furthermore, it got me thinking that everyone should know what to ask their primary care doctors during an annual checkup. There are obvious ones like asking about getting ahead of heart disease or diabetes. So, in the spirit of kindness, here are some of the really important questions you want to make sure you ask your primary care physician.
When you do look up your symptoms on one of the various symptom checkers, do not tell that to your doctor. This is more of a request for patient courtesy than a question. As one California physician said,
“Even though you may be informed about your illness after a bit of Internet research, the years of training that your doctor has been through will offer up insight about your diagnosis and why Dr. Google may or may not be accurate.”
With that, respect the fact that your physician went to medical school and is able to perform a differential diagnosis. Just keep that bit of information that you read on the internet to yourself.
How can I prevent this from happening again? While I have heard this questions numerous times in the realm of physical traumatic injuries, this is more towards ensuring you get good recommendations on how to prevent the flu from hitting you again or avoiding that new disease that your kid brings home from school.
How does this medication/treatment work on my body? Emphasize the importance of a lay term explanation, but do not be afraid to ask doctors to explain your health status, especially when some intervention is required. Some find a verbal explanation that doesn’t use those big LATIN terms for body parts and other acronyms to be sufficient. For some, like myself, find a visual to be much more helpful. It is on you to find out what method works best for you. I have never met a physician who scoffed when a patient asked for an explanation.
What do you (your doctor) do to stay healthy? I had a pediatrician that was very overweight. I always found it odd when he would give me health advice seeing as he clearly did not partake in a health regiment himself. So if you have a SVELT looking doc, go ahead and ask them for their secret.
What is the current state of my condition? Going to ask your doctor for clarification or easy to understand instructions could be the difference between living or dying.
THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION TO ASK IS REGARDING THE REAL REASON YOU WENT TO THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE! Example (Click “Example” to read about the Doorknob Phenominon): “Hey doc, my headaches are back and getting worse.”
A question that shows a little vulnerability could be the question that leads to getting the brain tumor before it was too late.
These vulnerable, yet simple to the point questions are sometimes the most important questions you can ask. Do not be afraid to have awkward conversations with your doctor. It can be just as awkward for them as well. They are in fact the ones holding your testes in an effort to save your life. So please do not forget to thank your doctor.
