A Special Sort of Science

It you're thinking about becoming a physician don't miss out on an opportunity to learn about the single greatest skill you could possess. A skill, though not found in your science text books, that will play a vital role in your success as a physician.

                                                                  A Special Science

If you are wishing to embark on the journey to becoming a physician you will find it is a long and grueling road ahead of you. A road lined by towers of textbooks, rows of residencies and rounds of rotations. Not surprisingly you will find this path crammed with chemistry, plastered with physiology, and brimmed with biology.  

cramming,  cramming, and more cramming,
such is the life of a med student.

This is understandable, for science is an intricate part of medicine. One must understand chemical interactions to fully understand a medication’s impact on a sick patient. Human anatomy and physiology are essential if one wishes to understand the layout and function of the human body. A study of molecular and micro biology will help a doctor to identify and understand the building blocks of good health. So to say a pre-med student’s curriculum is science saturated would be to say that water is wet. While it is true that these skills in the art of science are necessary in order for a doctor to excel, another skill, quite often overlooked will really help a doctor to become great. It too is a science, a science of specialized language. This science is rhetoric, or the art of persuasion.  Just as any other science, rhetoric too has methods and laws that have come through the process of experimentation.  

So what is it, the intellectual mind would ask, and how can we apply its methods?  Rhetoric is a series of techniques that help one to communicate more efficiently and persuasively. It requires accuracy of language and understanding your audience, as well as the proper use of speech in a specific setting. When would you ever use these kinds of techniques as a physician?  Are you kidding, when wouldn’t you?   In the medical field, rhetoric is seen when a physician helps a patient see which treatment is best suited to their needs, when a doctor must speak to a colleague about a controversial issue, or when writing to an insurance company to convince them that a patient is in need of a medication. Being aware of these techniques may be more important than being aware of the law of gravity. Gravity affects all of us whether we are aware of it or not, whereas rhetoric benefits us the more that we are aware of it.

Using Rhetoric in Medicine

Many physicians spend so much time talking at their patients that they never talk with their patients. Sun Tzu, a great Chinese general taught that a great commander knows himself and his enemy (Tzu 18). Similarly, to become a great physician you must know yourself, your values, and your beliefs, as well as values and beliefs of those you associate with. This allows you to effectively reach out to these individuals and groups and persuade them to do what is in their best interest. The following experience demonstrates the importance of understanding your audience and tailoring communication methods to their needs.

A doctor deals daily with individuals
its essential for him to tailor his communication
to individuals

Craig Ferguson, a musician, actor, talk show host, and author, once benefitted from a doctor who established credibility and used timely assertiveness. Ferguson was a real tough character. Having worked as a construction worker and a night club bouncer, easily intimidated he was not. Ferguson had a problem. For years he had suffered from alcoholism, drug addiction, and depression. His journey to recovery was not an easy one. In his book, American on Purpose, Ferguson sought help from a doctor to find ways of overcoming his addiction problems. He recounts,

“I told her that I didn't want to take any drugs. That I had come here not to take drugs. 

"Listen," she said, not unkindly, "up until now I would say that ninety-nine percent of all the narcotics you have taken in your life you bought from guys you didn't know, in bathrooms or on street corners, something like that. Correct?"

I nodded. 

"Well these guys could have been selling you salt or strychnine. They didn't care. They wanted your money. I don't care about your money, and, unlike your previous suppliers, I went to college to study just the right drugs to give to people like you in order to help you get better. So, bearing all that in mind ... Take the [word omitted] drugs!"

I took the drugs”  (29).

Ferguson has been sober and drug free for 22 years and running. How different could this have been for Ferguson had the doctor not sensed what he needed to hear and presented it in way that hit home for him? Would the physician have spoken the same way had her patient been a little old lady with a fear of taking too many kinds of meds? Absolutely not! A great doctor would have changed their approach to something tailored to that individual. For example:

“Norma (which happens to be the name of the little old lady), I realize that you have concerns about taking Solanezumab because you’re worried that this medication will affect your cognitive ability. I know that you love your grandchildren and it’s important to you that they remember you having an excellent mind. We want that for you as well, Norma, and due to the trial results of this drug on patients with Alzheimers, we believe that this will help to increase cognitive ability.

“While I cannot guarantee that you will not notice any aide effects we plan to follow up with you regularly to make sure we find the optimum dosage for you to take as to maximize your cognitive ability and minimize any negative side effects. Are you willing to give this a try?”

Notice how the doctor changed her approach depending on the needs and values of whom she was speaking with. By knowing about her patient, Norma, the physician is able to present the information in a way that will allow her to connect emotionally with her patient, leaving the patient feeling cared for and more apt to follow the treatment.  A great doctor not only knows medicine, but also knows his audience and adjusts the way he speaks to them to depending on their values and needs.

Good for the Business

Rhetoric is essential for a physician who wants to establish a successful, thriving practice. Doctors sometimes carry a reputation of having “The God complex”, a complex where a doctor believes that they are the ultimate authority. Given that a doctor spends anywhere from 10-14 years of their life studying and learning, and the rest of their life with people coming to them daily asking for help and advice, we can’t blame them for some slight delusions of grandeur.

While it is easy for a doctor to feel this way, it is important to remember that the “my way or the highway” approach lacks the real persuasive power that a physician could possess. Unlike the 1800’s, where a single doctor covered an entire city or town, today finding a new doctor is as easy as finding a sleeping student in the campus library. If a patient doesn’t like their doctor they simply find a new one. Being aware of effective communication will help you establish credibility and trust with those whom you associate with, help you to retain patients, and lead to a thriving practice.

History of Medicine

Men and women throughout the ages have played a role in paving the path
of medicine which we enjoy today.The path continues to expand!

Medicine has always been about gaining greater knowledge and understanding about the human condition and then using this knowledge to help people. From the days of Hippocrates and his first school of medicine, many steps were taken by Greek and Roman physicians that led to a greater understanding of the human body and paved the path for modern medicine. Through the ages, great strides have been taken by doctors like Curie, Freud and Pasteur, whose contributions have furthered our knowledge. Today, in the modern world of medicine, we are experiencing giant leaps and bounds.  Surgeries are now done by lasers, brain lesions are halted by a mere yellow pill, and cameras are so small they can fit inside the body.  From steps to strides, to now leaps and bounds, the field of medicine is consistently seeking to improve.

It’s Up to You

As advancements, adaptations and additional understanding in medicine continue to increase, should it not be the same for those in its field?  By learning to communicate effectively and persuasively, doctors seek to advance their knowledge of speaking, adapt their methods of communicating with individuals, and increase in knowledge about themselves and their patients. As someone embarking on the path into the great field of medicine, you will become a master of many sciences. On this journey, however, there is one science you cannot afford to overlook. That is this, the science of rhetoric. Its laws and its methods will not only help you to become a good doctor, but a good doctor speaking well.

Work Cited

Burton, Gideon O. "Silva Rhetoricae: The Forest of Rhetoric." Silva Rhetoricae. Web. 8 Dec. 2014. <http://rhetoric.byu.edu>.

Ferguson, Craig. American on Purpose, The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot. New York: Harper, 2009. Online

Tzu, Sun. The Art of War. The Internet Classics Archive. N.p., 2009. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.