|
& Staff P.O. Box 649 Kealakekua, Hawaii 96755 |
|
Anti-Aging Medicine RELATED LINKS: American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine American College for Advancement in Medicine
|
Following his father's example, Clif Arrington completed medical school in 1973. Then he expanded his medical knowledge studying psychiatry where he observed that some patients labeled 'mentally ill' were in fact suffering from diet related mind altering disorders. Early in his career Dr. Arrington recognized that the proverbial "ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure" to fight the war against major diseases. He advocates that a sound mind requires a sound body and that physical and spiritual harmony can naturally fulfill our potential for a long and healthy life. He counseled cancer and heart disease prevention through diet decades before this fact became the officially accepted medical doctrine. Because patients don't often take preventive measures, the physician must deal with situations calling for medical intervention with drugs or surgical procedures. In light of this reality, Dr. Arrington frequently consults and cooperates with traditional MDs, as well as with health professionals, such as chiropractors, nutritionists, naturopathic physicians, acupuncturists, and herbalists, adopting a wealth of accepted treatments for the benefit of patients. A truly competent physician with knowledge of both the old and the new, no white coat, and no desk to hide behind, Dr. Arrington has a way of putting you at ease from the first encounter. Casually dressed and never appearing rushed for time, he typifies the native 'aloha spirit.' He conveys a genuine sense of caring for you as a person, not only as a medical case. He believes patients have the right to choose their method of care, have the best knowledge of their own bodies, and often know what works or doesn't for themselves. Listening to patients is Dr. Arrington's highest priority. He asserts that from careful listening, a physician is not only more apt to be successful in diagnosing problems and treating them, but will also gain an education available in no other way. He says: " I give credit to my patients for much of my education. I respectfully listen for whatever home remedy works for them, no matter how strange. They feel free to open up and tell me all kinds of interesting things that they would never tell other doctors. I mentally file it away and often find it useful later on." A new area of interest to Dr. Arrington is the growing science of longevity and anti-aging medicine. He is following that research closely and is already doing some conservative trials in his own practice with patients who ask for this. The results so far in this new area have really excited him. As the research develops he intends to be more and more involved in this area of family healthcare. Dr Arrington is concerned about the lack of enough family practitioners who successfully prevent illness and treat patients as individuals. Busy specialists tend to look at only one area of the body and have little time for human relationship with the patient. Their professional fast pace prevents observing family and environmental dynamics; their focus is on symptoms and less on the complexity of causes preceding these. Specialists treat patients more or less with standardized methods, so we need old fashioned family doctors who see the whole person and can interact with specialists. Today's information explosion presents an awesome challenge for physicians to keep up-to-date and encourages specialization by overwhelming new doctors fresh out of medical school. Understandably, Dr. Arrington comments: "Graduating medical students today are still aspiring to specialize when more family practitioners are desperately needed. I personally believe that an education in the broadest sense allows the physician to more effectively minister to all the needs of the patient and family unit. I have to work very hard to keep abreast of new information by searching the Internet, but the rewards are worth it. I am also assisted in keeping up by my patients who gladly share their knowledge with me; and I like this partnership between patient and physician. It takes pressure off me. For the patient I believe it is proof of my respect for them. We both gain. It is possible, though challenging, to be a family practitioner, do it well, and nothing could be more rewarding." Dr. Arrington is constantly educating himself in areas of healthcare within and beyond the current boundaries of traditional medicine which he feels allows him to offer his patients the best of both worlds. Dr. Arrington serves as an advisor to United Eco-action Fund, a nonprofit organization spearheading a movement to unify environmental and humanitarian work across the globe. |
