MidnightCall Magazine
In this issue:
- Hear theWord of the Lord — By Thomas Lieth
- FirstThessalonians 3 and the Rapture — By Dr. Ron J. Bigalke Jr.
- Popular Prophecy:CheckingDogmaTwice — By Wilfred Hahn
News From Israel MagazineIn this issue:
- Why Jerusalem is Jewish — By Arno Froese
- ON THE HORIZON:
- Analysis: Birthright Needs to Transform on Larger Scale
- Israel Praises Turkish Authority for Preventing Hezbollah Attack
- Relationship with American Jews Is Changing
- A Festival of Discrimination—Funded by the EU
- The Cyrus Cylinder
Finding a good family doctor
This question is not as easy to answer as it may seem because it involves many different factors. It is best to start looking for a family doctor (General Practitioner) before you or a family member get sick. It is okay to ask friends about the practice they use, but you can get better recommendations from your pharmacist or a hospital nurse, who will be more inclined to offer you reference from a medical perspective rather than one based on personality. Remember, this is truly a matter of health and death.
After a doctor has been suggested to you, make an appointment for a general check-up. Make sure you arrive at your appointment on time because the doctor’s time is just as important as yours. When you give the receptionist your name, make a mental note of how long it takes for you to be seen by the doctor. The receptionist will probably ask you to fill out a form that will include a check-off list of medical conditions and a health history — what type of illnesses you have had, what type of surgeries you have undergone, what types of diseases run in your family — heart, liver, kidney, lung, blood, diabetes, and cancer. Questions many also include bowel and kidney function, sleep habits, whether or not you smoke or drink, eating habits and whether or not you exercise. Also important is the medications — prescription and over-the-counter — you are currently taking.
While you are waiting, take a look around the waiting room. Is it clean and orderly? When the nurse calls your name make a mental note of the length of time you waited.
Next you will be brought to an examining room where your weight and blood pressure will be taken. An electrocardiogram is usually the next step in the examination. Make sure that the paper on the table is unwrinkled and fresh. Check out the room. Is it clean? Is there a box of disposable latex examining gloves? Does the room have a sink?
When I opened my first office in 1950, I had a plumber put a sink in my examining room. This was not only for my cleanliness, but also so the patient could see me wash my hands with liquid soap, and dry them with a disposable paper towel.
While the doctor is reading your history, notice his fingernails. Are they trimmed and clean? Is his shirt or clinic coat clean and fresh looking?
The doctor will then discuss those things in your history that cause him concern. He will then ask you to lie on the examining table where he will listen to your heart and lungs and palpate your abdomen. When the examination is over, he will ask if you have any questions before sending you to another room to have your blood drawn for testing. Ask him which hospitals he is on staff, and which physician he uses to cover for him when he is unavailable.
After you leave, ask yourself these questions: Do I feel satisfied? Did I feel comfortable with the doctor? Did he seem focused and thorough during my time with him? Did I like his staff?
Family doctors work the longest hours and are the lowest paid in the medical field. They are the low-man on the totem pole. But remember, your family doctor literally has your life and the lives of your family in his hands!
“Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” (Jeremiah 8:22).