Interviewing practice

In class I was assigned to interview someone for practice the following is my report:

In finding some to interview I considered who would be a candidate for interviewing about farming but no one really came to mind so I chose to discuss my other interest, medicine, because who doesn’t have a need for curing ailments. I chose to interview my neighbor, Sam. Not knowing exactly how many questions I needed to spark an interview I came up with just a few and went from there. The questions I originated with were:

·     How do you prefer to fix or confront your physical ailments? Do you normally follow these practices?

·       Are there any current problems that you are facing that need attention? What do you plan on doing?

·       If you have a head ache, how do you fix it? Back pain? Foot pain? Congestion? Stomach pain?

·       In previous years did you treat things differently?

·      When is the time to go see a doctor?

·       How often do you go see a doctor?

·       What do you think is the most practical way to solve your ailments?

·       Is there a certain people’s way of curing ailments that  you look towards ?

·     How does your family think? Did you get these ideas through parents?

·       What do you think of prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, herbs, natural medicines, physical health practices?

As short as I thought this interview would last it was longer than I expected because questions came up that I never had planned (this will be discussed below). The interview was very smooth mainly due to the fact that I was able to record the interview rather than interrupt to jot down notes.

Sam seemed to have a motto of, “There is a balance between prescriptive and natural medicine but for daily occurring problems it should be able to be taken care of through natural practices”.  Sam believes that an ailment or sickness should take its course while doing your part of eating healthier, and/or drinking water to help it pass. As far as following these methods he does as long as it is not affecting his daily routine- if functioning becomes difficult then he results to over the counter medicine. The case in which Sam said he would use prescribed medicine is when it is going to make the people around him sick then antibiotics or something of the sort becomes more important. On a regular basis, over the counter medicines are too strong and make you weaker and sicker before you get better, so why take this route when you can let it take its course and feel better just through fixing lifestyle habits such as eating unhealthily or not drinking enough water.

One difficult Sam is currently enduring is continuous headaches throughout the day. I asked him which way he might fix this problem in which he responded he ties to drink and if that doesn’t solve the problem then he will take a couple Advil and the problem quickly dissipates. Some other difficulties I was curious how Sam would fix included back pain, foot pain, congestion and stomach pain. For back pain 10 push-ups almost always solves it for Sam. If the pain is more intense and cannot be fixed by push-ups then a chiropractor is the answer. For instance, last summer he mysteriously through his back out so a couple visits the chiropractor and he was up and working again but he said it was not common for him to have to go to the doctors. He mentioned that this may be a somatic thought but if it works it works? Foot pain, of the other hand, has not been a problem at all  for Sam ever since he stopped wearing the “stylish” shoes his feet have fixed themselves. The type of shoe that has worked best for him are shoes with not a lot of cushion and wide enough space such as, “sanooks have worked great.” Things that mimic barefoot or actually being barefoot has prevented previous ingrown toe nails. The past problems of foot pain, he says, that shoes were never wide enough because manufactures try to fit the “normal feet” which was not his. For congestion he tends to let it run its course and if necessary take an Advil for the pain but usually just let it go. Recently he has started using the neti pot which does help solve, prevent or alleviate congestion but it has to been done regularly. Stomach pain has never really been too much of a problem but if something does you just sit on the toilet for awhile. In the past Pepto-Bismol usually helped but Sam hasn’t used it in a long time. I asked Sam that in the past if he did things differently in the past. He said that he did take more medicine when he was younger for headaches, congestion, and stomach pain but as he has gotten older he has learned how he can deal with these problems and fix them naturally.

In Sam’s life doctors are not a major actor on his stage. The only time he really goes and sees the doctor is for an occasional check up (dermatologist, chiropractor, or family physician).  The most practical way to fix problems is through prevention of the problem from the beginning. He says that he is a very sedentary person because of school causing lower back pain but other people don’t always have this same problem, for example, yogis. He said that there are probably groups of nomads that have completely different problems than we do.

Sam’s family tends to live similar to the way he does. His grandpas’ are farmers and certainly have a desire to be natural and healthy. His mom tends to have to take medicines due to certain major health problems but she tries to prevent these things through eating a healthier diet, exercising, and seeing a natural medicine doctor. One of the things that have helped in the past has been things like acupuncture. Sam says that is family is natural a possible. Others that choose to resort to prescriptive medicine are not judged by Sam. He knows that people have their problems and that the drugs may be helping so let them practice what they wish. If it was a family member or friend he said that he may voice what he would do but would never judge them for their choices. “Medicines all have their place,” whether it is natural, herbal, over the counter, or prescriptive but on a daily basis natural medicines is all we should really need to fix natural problems.

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For the length of the interview Sam was very relaxed. We were in the setting of his own home where he felt most comfortable. At first he seemed slightly nervous in the way he moved and gestured shakily but that quickly dissipated. He clearly explained his feelings and opinions and when it wasn’t clear we were able to banter back and forth until it was clear. After I was done with my section of the interview we were able to continue sharing our thoughts and ideas making it very personal for both parties

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From the information I gathered about Sam I have learned that he not only uses the most natural way to cure ailments as he deems possible but also tries to show it to others in a settle way. It is important for him and his family to maintain a healthy diet so that you can prevent natural problems that might occur. Prevention for Sam is certainly the best route to go when it comes to keeping up your health- if you can prevent it then no medicine even has to be used. From what I can tell Sam’s view on medicine is a mix of western and eastern medicine. First resort to eastern medicine, such as herbs, yoga, tai chi, or diet, then, if necessary, resort to western medicine and drugs. From what I can tell Sam believes doctors are way over used. You know your body better than anyone else so listen to what your body is telling you.