Dr Brendan Fitzpatrick is a medical doctor who has a special interest in complementary medicine.
I normally come into work ahead of the traffic and arrive at my clinic in Donnybrook, Dublin at about 7.15 a.m. I spend the first hour and a half checking correspondence, looking at medical items on the Web and doing routine administration. I generally see my first patient at 9 a.m.
On a patient's first visit, I go through a comprehensive questionnaire with them, inquiring about all aspects of their previous health and present problems. People often have two or three symptoms that they are concerned about, but clues to the cause of these often come from other apparently unrelated minor symptoms.
In the first consultation, I would also discuss which treatment approach I feel would be the most helpful to the patient. An isolated joint problem may respond well to acupuncture whereas with more generalised joint pain, I might suggest a combined approach of nutrition, homeopathy and acupuncture.
I work with a nurse who would do allergy testing if I felt it was appropriate and, depending on the result, I would discuss a treatment programme including dietary advice. I treat a wide variety of conditions, the most common being skin and digestive disorders and migraine. I also advise on natural approaches to the menopause.
Educating patients - particularly new patients - is an important part of my work and seeing a new patient may take up to 45 minutes. For this reason, I try to intersperse new patients with repeat visits or those attending for acupuncture or allergy testing alone. I would see between six and eight people each morning. Generally, I review patients four to six weeks after first seeing them and alter their treatment as symptoms improve.
I take about half an hour for lunch and I try to do either a short, brisk walk or a 10-minute rest/relaxation period to recharge the batteries for the afternoon. I would usually see patients in the afternoon until about 6 p.m.
In addition to seeing patients, there is a variety of phone queries to be sorted out. These will include patients' questions about their treatment programme and advice on treatment of minor illnesses.
With any form of treatment, either conventional or complementary, it is important to know when to change direction if a condition is not responding. It is also important to know when it is beneficial to combine both forms of treatment.
While the work can be demanding at times, overall it is very interesting and rewarding. I arrive home at about 7.30 p.m.
(In interview with Sylvia Thompson)