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Side-Fx in "Practice" -- Spotlight on
Clinicians
Dr Peter Spitzer
Co-Founder, Chairman, Medical
Director of The Humour Foundation
General Practitioner and Founder of Wintergarden
Medical Centre Bowral NSW
Peter is the founder of the Wintergarden
Holistic Medical Centre in Bowral, NSW. A
vocationally registered GP, he actively uses
acupuncture, hypnosis, counseling, psychotherapy,
provocative therapy, nutrition, vitamin therapy and
herbal medicine, as well as allopathic medicine.
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Peter has presented work in the USA, Australian
Society of Hypnosis, Sydney University Post-Graduate
Pain Management Course, Australian Association of
Grief Counselors, psychology workshops,
lecture/keynote to Divisions of General Practice,
presentations to the corporate sector and community
groups and teaching medical students. In 2001, Dr
Spitzer was awarded the Churchill Fellowship to
study the international impact of hospital clown
units on the health care system Dr Spitzer regularly performs open-heart surgery as
Dr Fruit-Loop. His main aim is to infect his
patients with joy and laughter. He is involved in
the training of Clown Doctors in hospital issues and
establishing Clown Doctor teams. He visited East
Timor in 2000 to help people who had been through
trauma to find their smiles again. |
Q: I see that you are sharing your
"Smile on a stick" with us as a "Side-Fx
down-load". What the heck is a smile on a stick,
and how does it work?
The smiles-on-a-stick are magic. I have them in the
clinic. I haven't given
my kid patients sweets/lollies for years. All it
requires is a color printer and a tongue blade. I want the
consultation/interaction to have some meaning and I
want to have an element
of play. So together with magic, music, bubbles,
balloon sculpting and
puppets there is the smile-on-a-stick. I get them to
test-drive their "face"
on the parents, my staff and the other people in the
waiting room. Talk
about loosening up the waiting room
atmosphere........
Q: What is your experience with magic in the
exam room?WARNING: These activities will increase your patient
load. I was doing
close-up magic with a boy with ENT problems. He was
brought in by his mother
and I made an appointment to review his situation in
a week. A week later
there was the boy, his mother and 4 other children!
"What happened?" I said.
"Oh Dr Peter, that stuff you did last week was so
good....... I bought my
friends" So we all filed into the consulting room,
the ENT exam was OK and
went soooooo smoothly and finished up with a
mini-show. We ALL had a great
time.
I can
assure you, you won’t have to sell me on the
benefits of play/distraction/ laughter in the
physician’s office. Magic is a wonderful aid to
communication. The patient feels better, the DOCTOR
FEELS BETTER. And, there is better delivery of the necessary
technology too. |
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Q: how do you build up enough confidence
to try magic for the first time?
I have a deal with my staff at my clinic that I
can test-drive new tricks on them. They
never know what or when..........
Q: Is there anything you would like to
share with your fellow physicians?
Yes, the medical profession is under a lot of pressure. Not
good for the spirit. I encourage them to take a
risk and experience more play and laughter. It's
good
for the soul.
Q: What are your thoughts about the
Side-Fx magic project? As a physician it is easy for me to say that no physician should be
without
this book. Keep it within easy reach.
Side-Fx makes it easy to spend some of the
consultation in play.
If
clinicians want to deliver the technology of medicine with
better meaning? They should test-drive some of
Scott and Harrison's ideas and see what happens.
Side-Fx makes consultations fun, it improves communication
with yourself, your staff and your patients.
I've found that performing magic lifts the spirit of the
day and what a great
balancer to the daily pressure on us physicians.
Side-Fx? A great practical tool for better
delivery of medicine. Just
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How are
you using Side-Fx in your practice?
Drop us a line and let us know!
We'd love
to share your special stories, tips, and ideas with
your peers!
Contact
us here
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