Don’t take everything you hear from a medical/health professional at face value. There are so many people offering services, advice, and information regarding health nowadays. Trust in your doctor, PT, or dietician, etc… it shouldn’t be assumed.
Asking a simple “why” when reasoning hasn’t been given is vitally important. As a healthcare consumer, understanding exactly what’s going on and the reasoning for certain approaches fosters trust, compliance, and accountability.
Asking “why” prevents the use of cookie-cutter approaches and lazy thinking… and the answer shouldn’t be “because it worked for someone else”. The answer should be individualized to the patient and their specific situation.
The answer should make sense. If it doesn’t, ask for clarification. Medical paternalism is DEAD. Patients/clients need a voice in their healthcare. Just because someone is in a position of “healthcare-power” doesn’t mean they don’t need to justify their approaches and reasonings.
If you’re working with someone who declines or refuses to shed light into their clinical reasoning or approaches, seek help elsewhere. This means they either don’t have a good reason, don’t know how to explain it, or don’t think you deserve an explanation.
Education and patient learning is the most powerful intervention in healthcare and it should be cultivated on both ends of the patient-provider relationship.
