Go To Health: Publication, Seminar, CE Project
A simple guide to improving doctor/patient dialogue by understanding each other's point of view
Close Encounters of the Medical Kind
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Dr. Mark Hertzberg graduated S.U.N.Y. College of Optometry in 1982. He has worked with patients in all settings from private practice and optical stores to correctional facilities and hospitals. Mark has studied, performed and taught standup, improv, and comedy writing since 1979. He has given seminars on using principles and techniques from comedy, improv and standup in the corporate world and daily life. |
The entire health care system should be overhauled to encourage communication. In the real world, any doctor or patient can learn to communicate with almost anybody right now. All anybody really needs is a better idea of what is actually going on in the doctor/ patient dynamic. It seems every patient believes doctors are terrible communicators. Most doctors probably are, but so are most patients. Almost every doctor acknowledges the problem, but sees him/herself as the outstanding exception. This is why the working title for this book was Doctors are From Mercury, Patients are From Pluto. As with any relationship, the blame isn't on one person or the other: It is a product of the way they work, or don't work, together. Take a trip behind the scenes and into the heads of everyone involved in the communication mess that is modern medicine. There are many tips and suggestions offered within. Once you understand the doctor/patient dynamic all anyone needs is a bit of common sense.
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Behind The Scene With The Author This project did not start out as my second book, it took on a life of its own to end up that way. My second book was supposed to be What The Class Clown Knows And Every Teacher Should Learn: A Guide to Using Humor On The Job. I was also preparing to assemble my material on using techniques from improvisational performance in real life into another book. Occasionally discussions led to the use of comedy techniques in Doctor/Patient communication. Despite being a much less general topic, that seemed to be the most important one to people asking the questions. Although the techniques came from years of work in the field, the presentation has been worked out by giving seminars, interviews answering questions and integrating feedback. Often the nature of the questions gave more insight than anything else. Along the way a developmental version, "The Most Unhealthy Relationship of All" was distributed on a small scale. The feedback was used to mold it into "Go To Health." Although the tone is light, and some information is provided on the place of humor in medicine and in communication, this is a serious work on the topic at hand. The advantage of being a comedian when working on this project is not really about filling it with jokes. It is about the ability to observe and break down what is happening from a special perspective. One thing a standup comedian does is observe. The biggest laughs in a club come when a performer catches an audience member in the act of being him/herself. The best performers uncover what's behind the observed behavior live in the moment. I have spent 20 years observing in order to speak to people about this topic. The problem will not go away anytime soon, it might be easier to replace every road in this country. However, there is no need for you to be inconvenienced by this problem. If you were surrounded by bad roads you would probably drive an SUV. The lessons I share are like an SUV for navigating the potholes and ruts of the health care information highway. |
Dr. Mark hertzberg is available for lectures, seminars, workshops and speeches
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