Ruhl said physicians should use analogies when the concept is unfamiliar or hard to grasp. Sometimes a medical concept is fairly simple and straightforward, so an analogy would only confuse the patient. Or a patient may have researched the concept extensively already and may not need the comparison. If the patient isn't familiar with pumps, then your heart analogy won't work. Remember, the analogy is a bridge to understanding the concept.
Patients have to cross that bridge.
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department .