Listen to your patients and they will tell you the diagnosis." This is an axiom taught by a famous physician and one in which I deeply believe. To me, the first and most important thing I can do as a physician, is listen to the patient. Only by taking a careful and complete history of the problem, can an accurate diagnosis be made. With all of our new patients, this is followed by a comprehensive neurological examination. Many patients have remarked at the end of their encounter, that they had previously never had as thorough an evaluation. Of course, this takes time. So we schedule 60 minute appointments for our new patients. This provides the necessary time both for the evaluation, and for questions, explanations and patient and family education. Patients who understand their ailments are better prepared to participate in their management. Did you know that the word, doctor, comes from the latin, "docere," which means "to teach."
