Dialogue and sexuality: the inability of doctors?

The pill erectile displayed on the front page of every newspaper, sex is on everyone's lips, a wave of porno-chic has swept through advertising, yet doctors and patients are still struggling to address the whole issue.

Looking leaking, unintelligible phrases, circumlocutions nonsensical ... It is sometimes difficult for the doctor to know decrypt the message tries to send the patient who wishes to address his sexual problems. In front of her doctor does not dare make the first move, often out of modesty, and because his training has not learned to manage such relationships. A mini-survey of 88 GPs in Medec 2000 revealed that 80% of them believe that erectile dysfunction is a disease, but 60% say that the patient is to speak first.

Sexual dysfunction indicative of disease
"The doctor must know how to seize the pole that holds out his patient" says Dr Eric Tanneau, psychiatrist and sexologist. He must reach decomplex his speech on this subject. Is it because erectile dysfunction may be another disease. A study of the French Society of General Medicine, sexual dysfunction are only the 158th reason for consultation. Come first hypertension (13.68%), dyslipidemia (4.53%), inadequate coronary (3.34%), diabetes (2,96%) and depression (1.82%) . Now all these diseases may involve erectile dysfunction. These problems affect 15% of hypertensive patients, 28% of diabetics (55% after 60 years), 35% of coronary events.

Do not "scientifization"
It may also be fear for the doctor to see the word used is long and finally freeing the patient to unpack all his life while the doctor thinks of his waiting room fills up consultation lasts. He may then offer another appointment, so to say that the problem was understood, but that further consultation entirely devoted to this subject will allow everyone to prepare for and take his time.

The doctor will tailor his speech and not take refuge in medical terms too. "Some of my patients do not know what I mean when I use words like" libido "or confuse" erection "with" ejaculation ", so be sure to be well understood if I asked band. That may seem raw, but at least it is safe to say the same thing "said one urologist met in the corridors of Medec.

A new mindset
To enable GPs to prepare for this type of pathologies, laboratories recently organized training based on role play. Put in a situation, physicians are invited to slip into the skin of a patient. They are then very quickly what their patients feel and learn to approach the subject.

"Our gynecologists do not have that kind of mood," one reporter protested, "they do not hesitate to discuss these issues frankly." An example that men should emulate? "We certainly will come, 'says Dr Eric Tanneau," but we must understand the patients to discover their fifties prostate problems, erectile dysfunction, can be difficult to confide in a man which returns an image manhood, undermined at home.

 

Home » Erection » Dialogue and sexuality: the inability of doctors?