Page 3 |
Previous | 64 of 148 | Next |
|
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
|
Loading content ...
November, 1959 The Health Bulletin 11 Every active, conscientious physician, in whatever field of medicine he chose to practice, has contributed knowingly or unknowingly something to the improvement of the public health. No small part of this contribution has been in the field of services rendered other than the control of the particular disease or epidemic. Assurances artfully given by the physicians that relieved the people of anxiety, fear, or even panic created a wholesome and healthier community. We now recognize that, in addition to control of disease, wholesome use of leisure through recreation, hobbies, or companionable associations and activities in social groups, freedom from some of the environmental irritations of daily living such as noise, pestiferous insects, and others contribute to a better total public health. Physicians of the past, because of their knowledge of the whole but smaller community and their personal interest in it, were accepted as leaders not only in medical affairs but equally as well in civic and public affairs. Not all of this leadership was unsuspectingly thrust upon them by their communities. The physician was healer, comforter, and adviser to his patients in problems other than medical. During the past quarter century, there seems to have been increasing criticisim of physicians individually and collectively. Some of the reasons advanced for this criticism and seeming lack of healthy trust in the individual physician and the medical profession have been several. (1) Increasingly there has been a lack of time devoted to a satisfying discussion with the patient of his total problem by the physician responsible for his care. This applies equally well to the public health physician, whose patient is the community of his jurisdiction, as to the private practitioner and his individual patient. We have all gotten too busy to discuss with our patient his chief problem which often as not is not the symptom of which he complains. Patients are anxious for their physicians to discuss their problems with them for a little while. We, as individual physicians, who are responsible for the care of the patients and community, must somehow find enough time to talk more with our patients about their total problems, if we are to keep their confidence and support which we need to maintain our medical and patient freedoms as we now know them. We in public health must find the time to determine, evaluate and discuss with our communities then-problems. We must not be found limiting our activities to minor or disappearing problems. (2) Another reason which may be cited for misunderstanding and criticism by the public results from the great increase in specialization in medicine that has become necessary because of the great advances in the science of medicine. The criticism that in the advances in the scientific fields we have lost some of the art of practice may be partly justifiable. In many instances the private patient is sent to several specialists without having his confusion altered by a timely explanation of reasons for such reference and of the reasonably anticipated results. The public health physician must be sufficiently informed to give his community patient a reason for certain actions or lack of action and to have some knowledge of what might be reasonably expected to result from such procedures. Noncommunication, equivocation or brusqueness with the community patient can be as disastrous as with an individual private patient. It is also just as important to each kind of patient that we give the information or instructions confidently, artfully, and timely. There have been instances in which the people of communities became unnecessarily alarmed, frightened, and even panicky because some private physicians and unfortunately some health officers failed to instill calmness during threatened epidemics of smallpox or, more recently, polio-
Object Description
Rating | |
Fixed Title * | NCHH-04: The Health Bulletin [1914-1973] |
Document Title | The Health Bulletin [1914-1973] |
Subject Topical | Public health -- North Carolina -- Periodicals. |
Subject Topical Other | Public Health -- North Carolina -- Periodicals. |
Contributor | North Carolina. State Board of Health. |
Publisher | Raleigh, North Carolina State Board of Health. |
Repository | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Health Sciences Library. |
Host | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Date | 1959 |
Identifier | NCHH-04-074 |
Form General | Periodicals |
Language | English |
Rights | This item is part of the North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection. Some materials in the Collection are protected by U.S. copyright law. This item is presented by the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for research and educational purposes. It may not be republished or distributed without permission of the Health Sciences Library. |
Digital Collection | North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection |
Sponsor | The North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection is an open access publishing initiative of the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Financial support for the initiative was provided in part by a multi-year NC ECHO (Exploring Cultural Heritage Online) digitization grant, awarded by the State Library of North Carolina, and funded through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). |
Volume Number | 74 |
Health Discipline | Public Health |
Digital Format | JPEG 2000 |
Print / Download PDF Version | http://archives.hsl.unc.edu/nchh/nchh-04/nchh-04-074.pdf |
Document Sort | all; group-b; nchh-04 |
Volume Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/identi/searchterm/NCHH-04-074 |
Title Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/documa/searchterm/NCHH-04 |
Catalog Record link | http://search.lib.unc.edu/search?R=UNCb1296443 |
Description
Fixed Title * | Page 3 |
Document Title | The Health Bulletin [1914-1973] |
Subject Topical | Public health -- North Carolina -- Periodicals. |
Subject Topical Other | Public Health -- North Carolina -- Periodicals. |
Contributor | North Carolina. State Board of Health. |
Publisher | Raleigh, North Carolina State Board of Health. |
Repository | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Health Sciences Library. |
Host | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Date | 1959 |
Identifier | NCHH-04-074-0069 |
Form General | Periodicals |
Page Type | all; article |
Language | English |
Rights | This item is part of the North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection. Some materials in the Collection are protected by U.S. copyright law. This item is presented by the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for research and educational purposes. It may not be republished or distributed without permission of the Health Sciences Library. |
Filename | healthbulletinse74nort_0069.jp2 |
Digital Collection | North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection |
Sponsor | The North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection is an open access publishing initiative of the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Financial support for the initiative was provided in part by a multi-year NC ECHO (Exploring Cultural Heritage Online) digitization grant, awarded by the State Library of North Carolina, and funded through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). |
Volume Number | 74 |
Issue Number | 6 |
Page Number | 3 |
Health Discipline | Public Health |
Full Text | November, 1959 The Health Bulletin 11 Every active, conscientious physician, in whatever field of medicine he chose to practice, has contributed knowingly or unknowingly something to the improvement of the public health. No small part of this contribution has been in the field of services rendered other than the control of the particular disease or epidemic. Assurances artfully given by the physicians that relieved the people of anxiety, fear, or even panic created a wholesome and healthier community. We now recognize that, in addition to control of disease, wholesome use of leisure through recreation, hobbies, or companionable associations and activities in social groups, freedom from some of the environmental irritations of daily living such as noise, pestiferous insects, and others contribute to a better total public health. Physicians of the past, because of their knowledge of the whole but smaller community and their personal interest in it, were accepted as leaders not only in medical affairs but equally as well in civic and public affairs. Not all of this leadership was unsuspectingly thrust upon them by their communities. The physician was healer, comforter, and adviser to his patients in problems other than medical. During the past quarter century, there seems to have been increasing criticisim of physicians individually and collectively. Some of the reasons advanced for this criticism and seeming lack of healthy trust in the individual physician and the medical profession have been several. (1) Increasingly there has been a lack of time devoted to a satisfying discussion with the patient of his total problem by the physician responsible for his care. This applies equally well to the public health physician, whose patient is the community of his jurisdiction, as to the private practitioner and his individual patient. We have all gotten too busy to discuss with our patient his chief problem which often as not is not the symptom of which he complains. Patients are anxious for their physicians to discuss their problems with them for a little while. We, as individual physicians, who are responsible for the care of the patients and community, must somehow find enough time to talk more with our patients about their total problems, if we are to keep their confidence and support which we need to maintain our medical and patient freedoms as we now know them. We in public health must find the time to determine, evaluate and discuss with our communities then-problems. We must not be found limiting our activities to minor or disappearing problems. (2) Another reason which may be cited for misunderstanding and criticism by the public results from the great increase in specialization in medicine that has become necessary because of the great advances in the science of medicine. The criticism that in the advances in the scientific fields we have lost some of the art of practice may be partly justifiable. In many instances the private patient is sent to several specialists without having his confusion altered by a timely explanation of reasons for such reference and of the reasonably anticipated results. The public health physician must be sufficiently informed to give his community patient a reason for certain actions or lack of action and to have some knowledge of what might be reasonably expected to result from such procedures. Noncommunication, equivocation or brusqueness with the community patient can be as disastrous as with an individual private patient. It is also just as important to each kind of patient that we give the information or instructions confidently, artfully, and timely. There have been instances in which the people of communities became unnecessarily alarmed, frightened, and even panicky because some private physicians and unfortunately some health officers failed to instill calmness during threatened epidemics of smallpox or, more recently, polio- |
Digital Format | JPEG 2000 |
Print / Download PDF Version | http://archives.hsl.unc.edu/nchh/nchh-04/nchh-04-074.pdf |
Document Sort | all; group-b; nchh-04 |
Article Title | Physicians and Progress in the Public Health |
Article Author | McDaniel, Gerald E. |
Volume Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/identi/searchterm/NCHH-04-074 |
Title Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/documa/searchterm/NCHH-04 |
Catalog Record link | http://search.lib.unc.edu/search?R=UNCb1296443 |
Tags
Comments
Post a Comment for Page 3