My dad forwarded me an invitation to a talk at NYU -- my likely future medical school -- taking place this afternoon. The title of the lecture being given by Dr. Erica Frank intrigued me, and I've decided to go down and check it out.
In fact, a little preemptive internet research has revealed a bit more about what we'll likely be hearing about tonight. Very different than what I might have imagined from a talk including the phrase 'Climate Change' in it's title -- but an extremely important message all the same. Dr. Frank believes that physicians who preach what they practice (good diet and exercise habits; environmental consciousness) are more effective at providing care than those physicians who do not model these behaviors. I 'm not sure if I'm one hundred percent on board with her hypothesis off the bat, but I'm sure she'll have lots of interesting things to say in just a few short hours.
On a related note: I'm very much looking forward to getting back into school mode. Listening to interesting lectures and trying to wrap my mind around difficult concepts sounds like an exciting change of pace at the moment. I'm sure I'll be regretting these sentiments come August, but for now this evening's lecture will be a real treat. Holler.
From the Medscape Journal of Medicine:
Erica Frank, MD, MPH, Professor and Canada Research Chair; Founder and Executive Director; Founder and Principal Investigator; President-Elect
Physician well-being, patients' preventive care, and global warming: What do these 3 issues have in common? Both physician well-being and patients' preventive care are important contributors to climate change. Here's how it goes:
First, physician well-being: Contrary to myth, US physicians tend to live several years longer than nonphysicians, largely because we typically do have very good health habits; for example, very few of us smoke – about 4% of doctors in the States.
But there are 2 other important areas where our habits are better than others' but could still use considerable improvement. These are diet and exercise.
Second, patients' preventive care: Physicians tend to preach to patients what we ourselves practice. Many studies have now shown that (starting with freshman medical students) physicians with healthy personal habits are more likely to encourage our patients to adopt such habits.
This is specifically true for both diet and exercise: Physicians who eat less fat are half as likely to test patients' cholesterol,and those who exercise more are significantly more likely to counsel their patients about exercise. And it's also been shown that patients find doctors with healthier diet and exercise habits to be more believable and more successfully motivating in both diet and exercise.
So the last, the healthy climate preservation part, then is, if you eat lower on the food chain by eating less meat and more locally grown fruits and vegetables, and if you walk or bike more instead of driving, we will help our patients consume fewer resources and pollute less, too.
So, while behavioral change is complex, it's clear that our personal actions as physicians, and the way that our actions help our patients make better choices, are a good place to start healing ourselves, our patients, and our planet.
That's my opinion. I'm Dr. Erica Frank, Professor and Canada Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, and Founder and Principal Investigator of the Healthy Doc = Healthy Patient initiative.
