Wednesday, October 20, 1999
If patients define goals, doctor says, they cultivate good habits
BY SUE MacDONALD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Most of the time, the typical encounter in a doctor's office involves the doctor looking at the patient and asking, “Where does it hurt?”
Dr. Judith Boice gets much better results if she saves that question until later and starts instead with, “What is your own personal vision of health?”
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IF YOU GO
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• Who: Dr. Judith Boice, naturopathic physician from Portland, Ore., and author of But My Doctor Never Told Me That! Secrets for Creating Lifelong Health (Althea Press; $18.95).
• Workshop: “Homeopathic and Botanical Medicines for First Aid and Home Care,” 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at Price Hill Methodist Church, Elberon and Phillips Ave., Price Hill, sponsored by Imago. $50. Register, 921-5124.
• Book signings: 7-9 p.m. Tuesday at Barnes & Noble, 3802 Wasson Road, Hyde Park Plaza, Hyde Park, 871-4300, and 7-8 p.m. Oct. 28 at Books & Co., 350 E. Stroop Road, Kettering (800) 777-4881.
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Often, patients look at her a little strangely, but once they begin to fathom that this is going to a different doctor-patient relationship, they like the change.
Dr. Boice, a naturopathic doctor from Oregon, visits the Tristate Saturday through next Thursday for a workshop and two book signings for But My Doctor Never Told Me That! Secrets for Creating Lifelong Health (Althea Press; $18.95).
Dr. Boice says she began re-examining and reshaping the doctor-patient relationship by putting the emphasis on the patients, urging them to “create a vision or template of what health looks like to them.”
Many people, she says, “are making lifestyle changes to get rid of symptoms but they've never chosen to be healthy.”
For example, people who want to lose weight or reduce their blood pressure will adopt new ways of eating or exercising until the pounds drop or the blood pressure lowers — and then go right back to their old habits, she says.
Instead, she urges her patients to think first about what being healthy means to them and then making the permanent changes that crystallize their new vision of getting and staying healthy.
For example, some people want good health that will allow them to hike regularly, camp, write a book, spend time with grandchildren or take exotic vacations without worry.
“I work with them to make sure they have a measurable standard — how many times a month do you want to hike or work in the garden? What kinds of activities do you want to be able to do with your grandchildren?” she says. “A lot of physicians who are health-oriented try to give the patient a ready-made definition of health, and as soon as the patient walks out the door, they don't have any reason to continue or follow the doctor's advice because they don't have a passionate vision for themselves.
“I find that people usually want to be healthy because there are things they want to do.”
Her book offers easy-to-understand advice on how to create and stick to a health vision that works for each person, along with information on the importance of nutrition, exercise, mental-emotional health, sleep and relationships.
She says her message touches a nerve among Baby Boomers, many of whom do not want to take lots of prescription drugs or lead inactive lives as they age.
“Baby Boomers have very different ideas about what they want from health and working with their physician,” she says. “I'm very wary of one-size-fits-all diets or exercise programs or mental/emotional health programs. It's very important, from my perspective, to individualize the recommendations, based on the patient's vision of health.”
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