When I attended a specialist orthopaedic surgeon recently for a lifestyle-related musculoskeletal problem — of which I am prone these days, having probably played the game of life too hard in the first half — I was impressed with the quality of questions asked by my specialist colleague.

Impressed because, as a medical/health educator, I’ve always maintained that a patient needs to be treated as a whole being, and that this is hardly possible without details like ‘what do you do for the 364 days that I’m not seeing you’.

I was even more impressed when I told my specialist that I worked in lifestyle medicine epidemiology, looking mainly for chronic disease patterns and causes.

To my surprise, there was genuine interest: “That must be fascinating,” was the response. “I just sit here and see bodies all day. I have no idea about what goes on outside my rooms.”