Concetti Chiave
- Home visits, once a common practice, involved doctors providing medical care in patients' homes, known as house calls.
- The expression "close to home" can refer to physical proximity or describe something that affects someone personally.
- A "general practitioner" in medicine is a doctor who handles general medical issues without specializing.
- The term "practitioner" applies broadly to anyone working in a profession or art form, not limited to medicine.
- Practitioners can either work in a general capacity or focus on specific areas, as seen in both legal and artistic fields.
The practice of home visits
Although the practice is not common now, doctors used to make home visits to care for sick people in their own homes. This practice was also known as making house calls.
Ex: The receptionist told me that the doctor would be doing home visits all day tomorrow and wouldn't be available for an in-office appointment until the day after.
Ex: If you ever find a doctor who still makes house calls, keep him or her forever. There are so few of these that if you have one, you should never let him or her go!
Expressions with the word 'home'
There are many expressions that use the word home. One interesting one is close to home, which has both a literal and figurative meaning. Literally, it means physically close to one's place of residence. Figuratively, close to home describes something that affects you personally or in an intimate way.
Ex: My son asked us how much longer it would be before we arrived at his cousins' house. I told him that it would be a while yet, since his cousins lived far away and we were still close to home.
Ex: After being dumped without warning by my girlfriend, seeing the same thing happen to my friend Tom hit me close to home. I was really upset, and had to get my thoughts together before calling him.
The term 'practitioner' in medicine
The term practitioner is most often applied to those who work in the medical and legal professions. In medicine, a doctor who has no specialty, instead practicing medicine for the average person who may walk in off the street, is called a general practitioner.
Ex: If you have any questions about whether this medication is right for you, speak to your medical practitioner or find out more by visiting the website.
Ex: When our insurance coverage changed, we had to find a new general practitioner, as our old doctor did not accept our new insurance plan. It was a big hassle!
The meaning of 'practitioner'
A practitioner is any person who practices or works at a particular profession or art form. Practitioner can also refer to anyone who does anything typically or habitually.
Ex: When a lawyer graduates from law school, he or she can become a practitioner of law in general or specialise in a certain area, such as criminal law, or property.
Ex: Jonas is a practitioner of all the visual arts--he paints, draws, creates collages, takes photographs--he does it all, without specialising in any one area.
Domande da interrogazione
- What was the traditional practice of doctors visiting patients at home called, and is it still common today?
- What is a general practitioner in the medical field?
The traditional practice was known as making house calls or home visits. It is not common today, and finding a doctor who still makes house calls is rare.
A general practitioner is a doctor who practices medicine without a specialty, providing care for the average person who may seek medical attention.
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