Most people who attend a family doctor are unlikely to be seriously ill. Many however will benefit from making different choices about how they live because it is now normal to be overweight or obese, it is common to drink too much and take very little exercise. People who attend doctors may have a so-called minor illness which will improve in a matter of a few days without any specific intervention but they will also have many risk factors for long-term illness that would be better addressed now, and certainly before they manifest as diabetes, heart disease, cancer or dementia.

Therefore the aim of the game, if we want to call it that, is to trigger people to make changes in their lifestyle while there is still time. The doctor will be one of the two people in the room when these matters can be in focus. At the doctor’s disposal at that time are five assets; the doctor (or more explicitly the persona of the doctor); the room in which they meet; what they both can see, hear, smell, taste and feel in that space; the actions that can be taken which range from nothing through to a referral to another expert.

Before the interaction the doctor has to have a plan as to how the interaction will unfold. The Art of Doctoring requires close attention to each of the assets at the doctor’s disposal. It is crucial to have considered how these are to be deployed before entering the fray.

Photo by Michal Vrba on Unsplash