Life Lessons Learned In The Study And Practice of Medicine

By Kenneth Kee

This book is about the 10 life lessons which I have learnt in the study and practice of medicine. This life lessons are applicable to all who wish to learn and practice good medicine.

1. The importance of OBSERVATION
is learnt from my teachers and professors of medicine in the University of Singapore

2. The importance of STUDYING WISELY and not by rote. You will learn how to extract the common factors in a textbook and fill in the blanks for different diseases and anatomical parts

3. The importance of LISTENING and COMMUNICATION
Listening skills important in getting a history from patients and also in social life. A listening ear is always needed by most people who has problems at home and at work.
COMMUNICATION is important in getting all the information about the history of a patient and his recent complaints.

4. TECHNIQUE OF EXAMINATION
A technique of physical examination that starts from the head down to the toes is the best way to do a comprehensive medical examination of a patient without missing out any signs. The examination includes seated, standing and lying positions.

5. DIAGNOSIS - COMMON ILLNESS FIRST
It is important in a diagnosis of a patient that the common illnesses should be eliminated first before going into exotic diseases which are rare but still possible.

6. TREAT THE WHOLE PERSON NOT THE DISEASE
It is important to take a holistic approach to medical treatment of a patient. Always treat the whole person and not just a disease. The patient is a human being with feelings, fears and emotions which should be addressed before giving the treatment unless it is an emergency. Even then always treat the patient and remember to talk to him or her and the family.

7. HEALTH EDUCATION
This is one of my favorite subject and the basis of my doctorate dissertation on the importance of Health education on the understanding and prevention of an illness. It is important to know the disease and how to prevent it.

8. COMPASSION
A doctor without compassion is like a scientist working on laboratory animals. All medical students must learn how to be compassionate to their patient and regard him or her as a fellow human being instead of a case or disease.

9. COUNSELING
Part of the work in a family doctor's life is dealing with emotional problems of the patient and his or her family. The family doctor is able to help reconcile differences in a family or between couples.

10. PITFALLS
There are many pitfalls in a medical practice whether in hospital or in a private clinic. It is imperative that doctor take precautions to avoid these pitfalls.

Dr Joseph Bell who was the professor of medicine and the person whom Arthur Conan Doyle based his famous Sherlock Holmes character said: “In teaching the treatment of disease and accident, all careful teachers have first to show the student how to recognize accurately the case. The recognition depends in great measure on the accurate and rapid appreciation of small points in which the diseased differs from the healthy state. In fact, the student must be taught to observe. To interest him in this kind of work we teachers find it useful to show the student how much a trained use of the observation can discover in ordinary matters such as the previous history, nationality and occupation of a patient."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Sep 2, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476459202

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Life Lessons

Learned

In

Study

And

Practice

Of Medicine

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2012

Published at Smashwords.com

Kenneth Kee 2012

Dedication

This book is dedicated

to my wife Dorothy

and my children

Carolyn, Grace

and Kelvin

This book describes the ten Life Lessons That I learned from the Study and Practice of Medicine

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

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Smashwords Edition

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Copyright 2012 Kenneth Kee

Chapter 1

Observation

The Importance of Observation

Arthur Conan Doyle the author based his Sherlock Holmes character on a Dr Joseph Bell a famous lecturer in the University of Edinburgh who was famous for his ability to deduce the patient’s occupation and recent illness just through observation of the patient. Dr Joseph Bell was not only an excellent diagnostician but also an extremely good teacher.

Dr. Bell observed the way a sailor walked was completely different from that of a soldier. Also the tattoos on a sailor might assist him in knowing where the sailor may have travel to. By listening to for small differences in a patient's accents help him identify where they were from. In addition observation of the calluses or other marks of the hands of his patients could help him determine their occupation.

"In teaching the treatment of disease and accident, Dr. Bell stated, all careful teachers have first to show the student how to recognize accurately the case. The recognition depends in great measure on the accurate and rapid appreciation of small points in which the diseased differs from the healthy state. In fact, the student must be taught to observe. To interest him in this kind of work we teachers find it useful to show the student how much a trained use of the observation can discover in ordinary matters such as the previous history, nationality and occupation of a patient."

As a medical student in our local University, this importance of observation was particularly emphasized by a story about our