I went for my annual eye exam today, and like most of other physicians I have dealt with (Doctor, Dentist, Physical Therapist, Dermatologist, etc.) my opthamologist has several large full-color posters of eye structures, common macular problems, and so on (of course, the other doctors have posters relevant to their fields: cardiovascular system, tooth decay diagrams, muscle structure, mole types, etc.).
I suppose drug and medical supply companies send them as a form of advertisting, and OK, so they do look colorful on the wall, if somewhat icky in a cartoony way, but what purpose do they really serve? No doctor has ever used them in explaining anything to me (even when my dad was to undergo lung surgery a while back, his surgeon drew diagrams on a yellow legal pad, and did not refer to any wall posters - and when my dermatologist was explaining how to check if skin moles are cancerous or not, he held a sheet with various mole illustrations in front as opposed to the big wall poster with the same info right on the wall).
So what’s the real reason behind them?
They entertaining reading while you wait for the doctor?
I think my doc must use his. There are little scribblings on the ear diagram right about where he would be explaining about ear drums, stents, otitis media and so forth.
I use them on occasion. I also have a couple models of the brain I use once in a while (for demonstration, I mean…of course, I use my own brain daily). WIth as good as the pictures you get with an MRI anymore, there isn’t as much need for the models. Many times I just use the radiology pictures to point things out and just orient the patient.
I think some of these are advertisments for a certain medication, and I think that since they are, they are given away free… and I guess the Doctors take them, so they wont have to re-draw the same diagrams over and over again… with not to scale results. Win Win Win situation for the Company, Doctor, and Patient.
An OB/GYN once used a 3D model of the female reproductive organs to show me just what my problem was likely to be. However, I don’t remember ANY of my other doctors using the charts/posters to illustrate a point with me. And I spend more than my fair share of time in doctors’ treatment rooms. While the posters are somewhat more interesting to look at than industrial tile, I’d rather look at landscape photos or pictures of fluffy kittens. My dentist has a variety of cruise posters in HIS treatment rooms. I guess that’s so we can see where he’s gonna do with all the money we pay him. Still, even the cruise posters are more relaxing to look at than a chart indicating The 7 Warning Signs of Tooth Decay And Loss.
Several of my OB/GYNs have had posters (generally of flowers or the above-mentioned fluffy kittens) thoughtfully tacked up to the CEILING of their treatment rooms, so that the patient can gaze upon the poster while getting a Pap smear. I’ve always thought that this is a nice gesture, rather like having a WARM speculum rather than a frrrrrrreezing cold one.