The Power of Our Voice to Our Patients

By Dr. Bruce Snyder, SCMA President

I recently had the pleasure of opening the Greenville News and seeing on the front page of the Wednesday City People section a picture of Dr. Justin Moll of Parkside Pediatrics.  Dr. Moll, a member of the SCMA, was recognized for the practice’s participation in the “Reach Out and Read” program in which children receive a developmentally appropriate book at each well child visit between the ages of 6 months and 5 years.  Although I am a grandparent of two boys not yet a year old, who both already have stacks of books, I realize that many families do not understand the value of early reading, or unfortunately, do not have the resources to provide either books in the home or access to public libraries.  We know the number of books physically present in the home has been shown to correlate with future success.  Screen time such as TV or computer exposure at this young age is not successful at helping brain development in children. 

Programs like “Reach Out and Read” encourage parents to read to their children and a physician’s participation reinforces to the parents ,as well as the children, the benefits of book ownership and reading.  We as physicians must understand how powerful our voice is to our patients and their families.  Would it be as powerful an incentive to read if a local big box store handed every child shopping with his or her family a book to take home? I do not think the value would be the same.  We should never underestimate the positive influence that we as physicians, through our words and deeds, can have on all aspects of society if we will just take the first step.  Thank you Dr. Moll and your practice for helping South Carolina be a better place to live.