When you click through the google pages, looking for that perfect someone to help you with your skin problem, a very important question should be asked. Unfortunately this question, in my opinion, isn’t asked enough and is the reason why many people may fail in their attempts to get better.
The question is simple, “Do you have experience in helping others with my particular problem?” The answer to this question is what will guide you to healthy skin.
Most Doctors, regardless of what they practice – biomedicine, naturopathy, homeopathy, or Chinese medicine – really only receive a bare minimum of dermatology in their foundational training in school. This could have been as small as 14 hours! Certainly not enough to tackle the many aspects needed for successful outcomes to your skin problem -proper diagnosis, treatment, and prognostic abilities being the main ones. Doctors from most schools, alternative, natural or allopathic, are really just generalists. They know a little about a lot of things and conditions, but they may not know enough about your particular problem. They really need to have gone on further and trained deeper into their respected areas of interest.
Many Doctors have wonderfully elaborate theories as to why your skin is the way it is, but this does not mean you will actually get better! Theories are great thoughts, great words, that can easily become dry air if they do not pan out in clinic. Again, one of the best ways to help guarantee success is to simply ask the Doctor of their experience level.
How long have they treated skin disease? Did they receive any extra training in the treatment of skin disease? If so, for how long and where? Do they get to see many skin patients in their clinical practice?
Doctors of Chinese medicine, specializing in dermatology, receive years of extra training, as do western dermatologists here at home. We should expect the same from any care provider we see as well.
It may be perfectly fine for a Doctor to humbly admit that they do not have a lot of experience treating cases similar to yours, as long as they have the knowledgeable confidence to give it a try. That they are honest and say, “well I haven’t treated a lot of conditions like yours, but I am willing to give it a try based on the knowledge that I have gained.”
Then you, the patient, can make an educated choice when committing to any given treatment. Not only will this help you towards a more successful outcome, but you may end up saving thousands in the process!
Wishing you health.
Dr. Trevor Erikson
Copyright © 2019 Dr. Trevor Erikson