The Critique of Mind on Pain: The Psychology of Pain by Howard L Fields - Article Example

The author of the article told the patient that he had to go through a minor procedure that would lance the boil and hence drain it (Howard, 2009). The patient became ashen and asked the doctor whether the process would hurt him. The doctor told the patient that the moment the treatment will tend to hurt too much he could communicate to him so that he would stop (Lautenbacher & Fillingim, 2004).  

That factor forms one of the basic platforms that put the article, as well as a doctor’s professionalism in question. From the explanation of the author the expectations that the patient has, determine the patient’s perception of pain. It is clear that from the pain the elderly man was passing through he had all the rights to expect more pain when the treatment will be taking place. It is hence the practitioner’s responsibility to assure the patient that the mode of treatment that he will undergo will take ensure that his pain will be effectively managed (Howard, 2009). The doctor, instead never gave a word of assurance to the patient but he just told the patient would communicate when he will feel the treatment have extensively hurt hence making the patients perceive that pain will increase instead (Padfield & Novartis, 2003). 

The doctor’s statement, however, only increased the patient’s expectation of feeling more pain since the doctor mentioned it in his statement. In simple terms, he was eagerly waiting to yell to the doctor that the treatment has hurt extremely as the doctor had stated. The scenario hence puts the doctor’s counseling ability in question. It is essential that doctors should always put their patients on counseling sessions before putting them or her under treatment so as to assure the patient that the pain he or she is going through will be effectively managed. Doctors should also disclose important information to their patients. The document knew that the treatment process would not hurt the patient, and it comes to be revealed since never experienced pain in his treatment process. The disclosure of that information would have become changed the patient’s perception of pain (Lautenbacher & Fillingim, 2004). 

From the above discussion, it is clear that psychological factors play a more significant role in the patient’s pain perception than the thought that the patient is having concerning the pain from physical disease or injury. It is evident that the reduction of fear to the patient would change the perception of that patient towards the pain he or she would be passing through at that moment. The role of reducing that fear that would therefore change the patient’s perception of pain is solely in the hands of the doctor attending that patient.