What the point of a physical?

Whats the point of a physical?

Health Tip: Doctors are for healthy people too!

As a healthcare clinician, I find it very difficult to convince people of the importance of routine physicals. It seems to be the consensus of modern society that doctors are for sick people. The truth is that the whole paradigm has shifted in healthcare, and we have come to realize that most of the chronic conditions we face cannot be effectively treated, but, they can be prevented.

I have tried many different approaches to convince people of the importance of that yearly physical. It seems to be most effective to remind people that most strokes and heart attacks are caused by ‘silent killers’. What does this mean? This means that many conditions like high blood pressure have no symptoms (oftentimes high blood sugar is asymptomatic too, only showing up in a physical exam). Finding these conditions at a physical can be the key in avoiding that stroke or heart attack. For some reason though, that doesn’t seem to be enough to convince people of the value/importance of the physical.

As a missionary nurse, I have spent most of my career working in a developing country, where the epidemics entail infectious diseases (such as malaria, TB, or pneumonia). The contrast exists in developed countries where we have ready access to treat these conditions before they become a threat. Instead, we are plagued with conditions that cannot be readily treated ( heart disease, diabetes, asthma, etc), but, that can be prevented. This is the key. So, that’s the point of the physical.

I imagine a day when people see the doctor as the place to go when they’re healthy. Then, and only then will we start seeing a decline in the chronic conditions that plague modern society.

Our physical health is like our spiritual health. It must be nurtured and cared for daily. I think of how Romans 5 says that perseverance produces character. As we persevere in caring for our health spiritually and physically, we are also developing our character. Pretty inspiring to me to stay the course- one day at a time!