You have the medical smile or you don’t have it

2024-01-10 08:52:06

You have the medical smile or you don’t have it

“And that joy is combined from the attention of the administrative staff at the reception to the orderly who takes you to the operating room, passing through the orderlies, the cleaning staff, the waitress who brings the food to the room, the assistants or nursing, not only by doctors,” he points out.

“In my case, I have not needed nor do I need to force a smile with my patients, even if they are first-timers. Joy comes from my heart, especially if I know the women since I was young,” says Dr. Sala.

“This way, the consultation will be on the right track for both her and me, especially when we hug each other, which releases more serotonin (happiness hormone),” she emphasizes, her face lighting up.

“In addition, in the exploration area we must be very delicate with the things we say. For example, we will never say… This is going to hurt you…A reassuring phrase will be more useful… It’s going to bother you a little“, he comments.

“In fact, the level of trust with my patients is so high that it is common for them to tell me… Carmen, I’m so sorry! I’m not shaved.…And I respond between laughs… Come now, come now; what else does it matter to me!“, he details.

“When the examination lasts longer, it is advisable to be quiet, since silence distances us from our patients. They like to talk about their children; but any topic that amuses or worries them will be appropriate,” she maintains.

Sometimes a physical examination or medical tests to this They burst into the consultation causing a change in strategy, also linked to the heart.

“You can detect a non-evolving pregnancy or feel an unexpected tumor… And that smile turns into a strong handshake, demonstrating support and complicity before sharing sisterhood with a few words: “I’m with you“.

The bodily benefits of smiling

Dr. Carmen Sala loves to read the printed press, preferably La Vanguardia, where she finds inspiring articles, such as one published in La Contra that she brings up in this video blog.

“Dr. María Inés López-Ibor, professor of Psychiatry at the Complutense University of Madrid, said in the interview in this section, very popular in the newspaper, that we can learn to be joyful and turn joy into a habit“.

“Yes I agree; since smiling releases neurotransmitters that are related to well-being, as happens with other pleasurable activities,” says the gynecologist, an expert in women’s quality of life.

Likewise, laughing not only generates endorphins and dopamine (which improves neuronal connections), but also limits the production of the hormone cortisol, responsible for stress.

Different studies, such as one supported by researchers from the University of Jena in Thuringia (Germany), show that smiling and laughing, joy, improves the immune system, lowers blood pressure and relieves cardiovascular problems.

Although our reference gynecologist in Barcelona particularly likes one of the conclusions of a study carried out in London: “Joy increases generosity“.

“From joy we secrete oxytocin and vasopressin, which are the hormones of pleasure… and I suppose that when you are happy you are a more dedicated and generous person,” he points out, shining his tooth enamel.

Still, a smile in the office is not enough for Dr. Carmen Sala.

“We have to add setting, colors, music, art, even imagination and flowers. It favors the release of hormones that reduce stress,” he highlights before commenting on another press article with which he does not agree.

Detail of the article published by La Vanguardia in April 2023.

The news, signed by Carina Farreras, talks about incorporating a Humanities subject into the Medicine studies at the Pompeu Fabra University, a career so focused today on technical and scientific aspects that it does not take good care of the doctor-patient relationship.

“The computer is increasingly getting in the way,” says Dr. Jonathan McFarland, from the Autonomous University of Madrid, president of the international association, in one of his interior paragraphs.The Doctor as Humanist‘.

“The objective of this new subject will be to restore the soul of medicine. Empathy and humanity are cultivated and then harvested,” the article highlights.

To improve this poor connection, among other measures, students will study for one term the book “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, by Leo Tolstoy… a work about the relationship between a doctor and a dying judge.

“The protagonist expresses his fears and concerns, his vulnerability to the pain and suffering caused by the imminence of his death and the disaffection of his family,” reads the Catalan doctor in the newspaper article.

“But I don’t think empathy has to be a medical subject. You carry that in your mind and in your heart, or you don’t carry it. It cannot be learned, although I recognize the opportunity of the subject,” says the gynecologist.

Whatever the result for the students, which only time will show, Carmen Sala Salmerón concludes her presentation by offering us, in return, two maxims: “Happy people give us years of life and a joke a day saves us from going to the doctor so much“.