Clin Ter. 2003 May-Jun; 154(3): 173-80.

[In Process Citation]

Binetti P, Bruni R.

Dipartimento per l'innovazione educativa e didattica, Campus Bio-Medico, Roma, Italia.

INTRODUCTION: Present proliferation of so called Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), reveals the patient's deep discomfort, as s/he does no longer perceive as satisfying the relation with his/her family doctor, thus wanting to seek for different solutions. The lack of a scientific basis of the majority of these medicines often causes an effective risk to health. OBJECTIVE: The survey highlights how the acquisition of expertise in Counselling, together with the more specific clinical ones, enables the physician to manage the many relational issues more adequately. This skill will allow physicians to meet patients' needs more effectively, and as a consequence, it will make them more satisfied of the relation which will loose its present anonymous and bureaucratic nature. The intrinsic dignity of the help relation will be restored and this will help to face the treatment processes even if these do not bring to recovery. CONCLUSIONS: The new expertise proposed to physicians, could be part of the new ECM programmes. It could also allow to verify, in Italy as well, if a medical class more prepared under this aspect, corresponds to a reduction of request for CAM, and consequently to a substantial improvement of the scientific dimension of personal professional vocation.