As a physician and plastic surgeon, I have been extensively educated and have been trained to speak the medical and surgical ‘languages’. Furthermore, spending a lot of time talking to and educating other doctors, I have learned to speak in an erudite and ‘big word’ manner. However, when it comes to talking with patients, I learned that it is extremely important to simplify…..and then make it even simpler. This is not because patients aren’t smart, some are and some aren’t, it is because most patients want to understand their issues…..in their terms. And, most importantly, making a medical topic easy to understand provides comfort. ….comfort in the potential services they desire and comfort in the one they have chosen to do it. Plastic surgery is far from simple but the ability to explain it simply implies a deep understanding of it and hopefully the ability to perform it well also.
Dr Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana