Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Abstract

Healthcare is overwhelmingly devoted to disease intervention rather than prevention, yet so much of what we treat is preventable. Healthcare professionals in all fields advise their communities on changing unhealthy behavior, yet often do not fully practice what they preach. If your own health habits are poor, or lack motivation to improve yourself, your ability and desire to inspire patients is minimized. For example, patients tend to ignore weight reduction information from an obese clinician. We need to inspire personal goals and find our unique enthusiasm for a healthy lifestyle. Changing behavior doesn't have to be difficult, it's just difficult to maintain. Negative visualization is an intense behavior modification tool that can place you in an emergency room â�?�?near-death experienceâ�? to emphasize the reality of the risks we ignore, before it's too late.

Biography

Frank Rasler is an Atlanta emergency physician with 30 years of clinical care. He is experienced in behavior modification and disease prevention, with training at Emory University and the C.D.C. in Atlanta. Motivating healthy behavior during a brief patient encounter has been a focus of his patient care.