Which Specialist Should I
See?
When
you, the patient, develop a symptom, do you try to
work out what is wrong yourself ? – Of course you do.
Unless you're very worried, you treat yourself to start
with, taking some Over The Counter (OTC) medication, and
only if that doesn’t work do you go to the Doctor.
But which Doctor?
British trained Doctors are the most extensively and
intensively trained in the World. They are required to have
an extensive General training before beginning Specialist
training. Many have more experience than the minimum
requirement before undertaking Specialist Training: and by
the way, General Practice, despite its name, is a
Speciality in its own right.
All "G.P.'s" trained under the British medical system must
have accreditation in General Practice with the JCPTGP,
which is Joint Committee (of the Royal Colleges of
Physicians, of Surgeons, and of Obstetricians and
Gynaecologists) on Postgraduate Training for General
Practice. This ensures a high level of understanding
and knowledge of the different Medical
disciplines.
Most medical problems can be dealt with in General Practice
by a properly qualified and accredited General
Practitioner, and for those conditions that cannot, you
will be referred to another Specialist, with the
appropriate expertise.
Over 90% of diagnoses can be made on the history taken
by a properly trained General Practitioner. In other
words, by asking the right questions, the G.P. Doctor can
work out what is wrong with you. The skill is in
asking the right questions based on the story (history)
as
told by the patient. This skill is learned with
proper training, and with experience. The diagnosis is
usually confirmed by simple physical examination.
Another 7% of diagnoses require an examination to make
the diagnosis, and perhaps some tests to confirm this.
Contrary
to popular belief, only a small minority of rarer
conditions require blood tests and/or X-Rays etc. to
make the initial diagnosis.
The question that should be asked before any test is
undertaken should be: "will this test make any difference
to my treatment?" In other words, is this
test really
necessary? If the answer is no, don’t have the test –
after all, one way or another, whether your Health
Insurance pays, or you pay directly, you are paying for it.
So, next time you have a Medical problem, ask your General
Practitioner to make the diagnosis.