Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon and Fellowship trained Foot and Ankle Surgeon. Dr. Warner’s mission is to provide superior orthopedic care to her p

Medicine is often called an ‘art not a science’. This statement is true in one respect and false in another. The artfulness of medicine takes place when a physician interacts with a patient. Unless there is mindfulness on the physician’s part and the ability to pause and observe the patient, a lot will be missed. This is similar to going to an art gallery and spending enough time to really appreciate the works, as opposed to rushing through a slide show if images of art. Modern clinical med...

Medicine is often called an ‘art not a science’. This statement is true in one respect and false in another. The artfulness of medicine takes place when a physician interacts with a patient. Unless there is mindfulness on the physician’s part and the ability to pause and observe the patient, a lot will be missed. This is similar to going to an art gallery and spending enough time to really appreciate the works, as opposed to rushing through a slide show if images of art. Modern clinical medicine is more like the latter, while at our clinic we strive to be more like the former. When I started Warner Orthopedics and Wellness, my primary concerns were the patient’s experience and comfort along with making the correct diagnosis, taking the entire patient into account and providing the best treatment. It is impossible to achieve these goals unless one has the time to really talk with a patient. It is also impossible to achieve these goals unless one actually examines a patient and really spends time looking at all of the diagnostic studies. It is equally impossible to provide the highest quality care unless one is willing to continually question the status quo, read and learn. In most clinics in Baton Rouge community, a single physician will see around 50 patients each day. In an 8-hour day, that means that each individual person, no matter what their personal pain and experience may be, is allowed to have exactly 9.6 minutes of the physician’s time. However, those 9.6 minutes assumes that the physician is not looking at imaging, not doing paperwork or charting and takes no phone calls or other interruptions during the clinic day. Obviously, anyone that has been at a doctor’s office knows that this is never the case. Taking all of the daily nuances of modern medicine into account then, most clinicians may only spend about 6 minutes with a patient. In addition, it is rare to find a doctor willing to step outside of their habits and to learn new skills and techniques; doing so slows down a 50-60 person daily clinic.