This is an excellent article which has been an eye-opener to me. The little things in the patient encounter can make all the difference. I am currently in medical school and trying to decide if I want to do primary care.
It is the ability to have a meaningful relationship with my patient that draws me to primary care. I hope that I will have the ability to know the right questions to ask. I also hope to focus on what the patient tells me rather than the amount of time I am spending with them.
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Re:The ODOMT Factor
Date: 2007/11/01 21:26
By: utcom
Status: User
Karma: 0  
Forum Attending
Posts: 48
Why is it a skill required only for primary care physicians? I think it should be cultivated in all specialities, it would improve medical treatment for all patients. Agree or Disagree?
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Re:The ODOMT Factor
Date: 2007/11/06 02:55
By: jrwbsbl
Status: User
Karma: 0  
Forum Junior Resident
Posts: 8
I don't disagree at all--in theory. But doctors chooses their specialty areas often as a match to their inclinations, abilities, and personalities. It is a rare cardiovascular surgeon who has the patience to tolerate the ODOMT factor--just as it is a rare PCP who has the test pilot's coolness to calmly regard a surgical field that suddenly fills with what looks like fifty gallons of blood.
Further, with sub-specialization, practitioners in specialties like orthopedics are focusing their attention on just knees and shoulders, or only hips. When a patient asks for something even remotely global of someone who has limited their medical concerns to just two joints, why are we surprised when that practitioner either ignores or defers the request?
I know a very talented cardiovascular surgeon, cool as a cucumber in the OR, who still deals well with the ODOMT factor. He is, however, looked upon as an anomoly by other cardiovascular surgeons. Jeff Waggoner
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Re:The ODOMT Factor
Date: 2007/11/19 21:47
By: jbohm1
Status: User
Karma: 0  
Forum Head Nurse
Posts: 56
That makes sense, certain personalities choose certain specialities. But if there was a greater emphasis in medical school on the "art" of medicine, maybe the ODOMT factor would be part of the basic skill set for all physicians. Or is that wishful thinking?
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Re:The ODOMT Factor
Date: 2007/11/19 22:09
By: jrwbsbl
Status: User
Karma: 0  
Forum Junior Resident
Posts: 8
History would suggest that it is indeed wishful thinking, but I am of the belief that until we dedicate ourselves to reintegrating humanism into medical care, discussions of "effective change" are, to quote the Bard of Avon, "a sound and fury signifying nothing."
When all is said and done, the medical profession has one mandate--caring for people. A cogent question might actually be, "Who took the care out of health care?" The painful question that follows is, "Who wll put the care back into health care?"
Jeff Waggoner
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Physician Forums 
