Your Life Your Doctor

Have you always wanted to be well informed when consulting your physician? Have you struggled to find THE doctor that best suits you? Do you want a hint (actually a sustaining system from the pro) on how to help your doctor to avoid errors? Do you believe it is high time that our world (especially the medical world) stopped being "a man's world"? Then, this book is for you! It originates from the wish to ease the relationship between patients and physicians, helping both worlds unite in thriving for the best potential outcome. We will explore the formation of the human ego and the importance of touch during our growth, we will discover how the patient and their relatives can help doctors avoid cognitive errors - our ego being a leading generator of such errors and a bias to our perception of reality. We will then compare the health care scenario to the progress made in the aviation industry. Forty years ago, pilots found themselves in a similar situation: the heroic times of pilot idolization were fading away, carrying with them their ego as well. Today, pilots and crew members have learned the power of thanking those who draw attention to an error or mistake, an attitude that the medical field would undoubtedly benefit from. In this scenario, the patient and their family could represent the physicians' co-pilots, and the operating team should act as the surgeon's co-pilot in the operating theater. Our checklists act as support in order to choose YOUR Doctor and not to omit anything important during the doctor's visit. Just like aviation implemented Crew Resource Management (CRM) and crew selection procedures to achieve a change of behavior in cockpits, the author will suggest pre-med-school and specialist selection tools; finally you will find checklists with questions that the patients and their relatives can use to help physicians think - think and act correctly. A link to downloadable checklists is provided corresponding to those at the end of the book. The website works on computers and portable devices of all types (Google / Apple / ...), directly online or even off-line after a small download. These are very easy to use checklists intended to help you and your doctor during interview.