What’s in a name?
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 1:30PM “A rose by any other name…” Well, in due deference to the master playwright Shakespeare, apparently that’s not always the case.
And in this instance, what we call ourselves and others might even affect our health care choices and outcomes.
In her “Lamenting the new medical language” on Boston.com’s White Coat Notes, Chelsea Conaboy wrote that The New England Journal of Medicine published a piece in which Doctors Pamela Hartzband and Jerome Groopman of Harvard Medical School advocate for a return to the terms “doctors and patients” instead of the currently fashionable nomenclatures of “providers, customers, and consumers.”
Their reasons?
The words “consumer” and “provider” are reductionist; they ignore the essential psychological, spiritual, and humanistic dimensions of the relationship — the aspects that traditionally made medicine a “calling,” in which altruism overshadowed personal gain.
To have the psychological, spiritual, and human dimension—our sense of identity—be recognized by anyone who’s helping us with the health issues we’re facing is such an important and fundamental concept.
But all of this raises a deeper question. One which to me points to our thought actually affecting our health—a phenomenon which a variety of medical research is also beginning to recognize.
In 2010, the Mayo Clinic posted an article on their Stress management page (“Spirituality and stress relief: Make the connection”) about how spirituality has a positive effect on our ability to deal with stress and related physical problems. The authors state:
Lead a healthier life. People who consider themselves spiritual appear to be better able to cope with stress and heal from illness or addiction faster.
That ability to heal faster due to a more spiritual thought about ourselves and others is exactly what I’ve seen in my own life.
About 4 years ago I was involved in a pretty serious, 35 mph bicycle crash. I was a mess. Road rash all over, a chunk of my cheek ripped right out, and what my cycling buddies were sure was a fractured collar bone. Not a pretty picture and a lot of pain. My friends were certain that they wouldn’t see me again for 6 to 8 weeks.
To say they were surprised when nine days later I joined them for an 80-mile ride—no scars, stiffness, restricted movement, or fear—would be an understatement.
How could this happen? I relied on a system of health care based on spiritual thought—a system that took into account my whole identity.
What’s the take-away here?
I think we’re just starting to see the tip of the iceberg. We’re on the verge of beginning to understand a resource for health and wellness that may well revolutionize how medicine—in all its forms—is conducted and applied.
We may very well be embarking on a new perception of the interrelationship of health and spiritual identity.
So, what’s in a name? Perhaps everything.
Boston.com, Chelsea Conaboy, Christian Science, Drs. Pamela Hartzband and Jerome Groopman, Mayo Clinic, NEJM, White Coat Notes, health care, prayer, spirituality, stress in CAMs, Disease, Health, Internet, Journalism, Living, Media, Medicine, Mental Health, Mind-Body Connection, Religion, Science
Reader Comments (10)
Interesting. Makes perfect sense.
Hi Pat,
Glad you feel that way!
Ken
Yes, it makes perfect sense, and what an exciting possibility –“embarking on a new perception of the interrelationship of health and spiritual identity.” Ken’s healing is note worthy in and of itself, but seen in the light of what that sort of healing can contribute to the greater public good adds a new dimension.
Interesting commentary on the use of "consumer", "provider" versus "patient' and "doctor".
Words can make a difference !
What a great healing, Ken. Glad you shared it.
I absolutely agree that this "new perception of the interrelationship of health and spiritual identity" are bringing about more good health and healing.
I also agree that what's in a name is important and because of that I don't agree that names should revert from "consumer" back to "patient". Patient implies a sick person. There are many people who go to medical professionals and others for care only to find that they are not really sick. They are, in fact, "consumers" but not "patients". Also the broader term "Provider" allows the substitution of nurses or interns in the place of doctors when a doctor is not necessary without concerning the "consumer" with the detail and without any deception either.
Hi Sue,
I think what Doctors Hartzband and Groopman were getting at was to shift the concept of "consumer" (and its inherent economic/profit connotation) to the one of someone who needs help--patient--which would lead the heatlhcare worker to (as they argued) "...the aspects that traditionally made medicine a “calling,” in which altruism overshadowed personal gain."
Ken
This certainly leads to an interesting consideration of the spiritual dimension of individuality in health care. To me, the term consumer, as opposed to patient, connotes a digitized number, an anonymous automaton that has no real individuality and is identical with every other consumer; yet, I agree with Sue that each of us is so individual, so unique, with very different talents and ideas affecting who we are that this spiritual aspect needs to be considered. I think this recognition is very important especially in terms of health care, for, as Sue said, one person may find he doesn’t have the illness he thought he did, while another may need encouragement along the way and openness to alternative approaches if the healing takes a very long time or the cure isn’t working for that individual.
I appreciate this article and everyone's input, but I don't think we have to feel bad about using the word "patient." Mrs. Eddy uses this word several times in Science and Health, referring both to people under medical care and also people receiving Christian Science treatment.
In a book I read about medical practice recently,the author, a doctor in a rural area, said what she learned most from her years of training was the need to listen carefully to her patients' stories. Their lifestyles were affecting the outcome of the prognosis, and she and they would both need to compromise along the way. She often found it hard to keep this patient-centered focus, but I hope that aspect gets lots of emphasis in medical health care. I know as a patient turning to a Christian Science practitioner for help, I love knowing he or she is hard at work discerning what my real need is and knowing that God is very specifically supplying it.
Hmm.. I see many good points here! Great to hear other people's thoughts on this. It's made me think a lot. I wonder if calling patients/consumers "Clients" might bridge the gap between "consumer" (an impersonal numbered entity) and "patient" (which labels a person as sick). Just a thought. :)
We all certainly want to be treated with respect, loving care, and consideration- that's the foundation of true health and wellness.