The Real Life Dr House
Television's hugely popular medical drama House stars Hugh Lawrie as the maverick, curmudgeonly yet charismatic Dr Gregory House, who has the impressive knack of diagnosing illnesses by looking past the obvious and finding the underlying psychological cause. Dubai's Dr Arne Brosig of newly opened German Center for Neurology and Psychiatry (GNP) in Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) has been compared to Dr House. This is largely due to his skills in getting to the bottom of complicated mysterious medical cases but, in the interests of sanity, accuracy and the promotion of good mental health in the UAE, he separates fact from fiction.
Dr Brosig has watched House a number of times and now he talks to us sorting out the facts of the real life job from the fiction portrayed on the TV show.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE CHARACTER OF DR HOUSE?
I think Dr House is played by an excellent actor as a cynic and a misanthrope, having become so because of his own bodily disablement and the seemingly necessary drug addiction, and yet he can be a charming person when he chooses to be. Underneath all this his character is, of course, good, always trying to help sick people, no matter how spectacular or dangerous the means and efforts might be.
IS HIS JOB AT ALL SIMILAR TO YOUR OWN?
Yes, my job is similar to that of Dr. House in that we share a curiosity about the true reasons for complaints offered by a patient, combined with the striving to help by being informed on all modern developments in his working areas, which are neurology, psychiatry, psychotherapy and rehabilitation expertise. Dr. House is a specialist in internal medicine and head of a crew boasting among others one neurologist who, of course is not as clever as Dr House (who is also acting the psychiatrist’s part), and two more doctors who apparently are able to do everything without being specialised in anything. The high quality standards of DHCC would not appreciate the latter very much.
HAS THE SHOW'S POPULARITY CAUSED A RAFT OF SELF-DIAGNOSES?
I don't think the rate of self-diagnoses has risen above normal by the popularity of shows like these, it always is rather high with educated people, but these shows may be helpful to make rare diseases better known and to give people a clue as to what medicine is able to do today.
DO YOU THINK PEOPLE ARE BECOMING MORE AWARE OF MENTAL ILLNESS?
The viewer learns that physical complaints and diseases are always in some way or other connected to the psyche and that the latter very often plays a more powerful part in being sick or getting better than the physical disease itself. This might indeed increase the awareness for mental health to some extend but, of course, human beings are true champions in repressing unpleasant or threatening insights.
HAS HOUSE IN ANY WAY CONTRIBUTED TO THAT?
Due to his popularity, Dr House is very suited for communicating the psychogenesis of symptoms to lay people, but they must also see more tangible situations such as is the case with neurotic detective Monk. However, as a rule, people watching these serials will see the funny sides of mental problems in the foreground and leave it at that as long as they are not troubled themselves. In fact I do appreciate that by serials such as House and Monk mental health or rather mental problems are no longer an entire taboo but something to talk about and even sometimes to laugh about.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO COME TO DUBAI TO PRACTICE MEDICINE?
We came to Dubai because Dubai called and indeed turned out to be a lovely place to be. Also, like all the Emirates, it is showing great underdevelopment in the field of neurology, psychiatry and rehabilitation expertise. To improve this is a great challenge which we will gladly tackle. Another reason may be the many restrictions doctors experience in Germany today due to maladjusted health reforms which do not serve the ill patient but make the doctors sick as well due to excessive red tape and little scientific freedom.
A further reason is to prepare the ground for more German specialists to come to Dubai in the future to make use of their excellent knowledge to an extent they would not be able to at home nowadays, thus helping the Dubai health plans develop and, at the same time, giving them a chance to develop themselves.
WHAT DOES YOUR DUBAI CLINIC OFFER AND WHAT IS THE STATE OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE LIKE IN THE UAE?
We opened a multi speciality clinic in Dubai Healthcare City in May 2008, providing the latest technology and high-class expertise. Our services are extremely rare to non-existent in this quality throughout the Emirates by representing the combination of neurology, psychiatry and psychotherapy not only in our center but also in the person of one specialist.
My colleague Dr Feike and I are both fully qualified neurologists and clinical psychiatrists with additional psychotherapy, which is most unusual in the UAE, but which is a great advantage for patients because – and this takes me back to Dr House – we can judge a patient’s complaints from both angles, the neurological as well as the psychiatric.
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO IMPROVE THINGS IN THE UAE IN TERMS OF MENTAL HEATH CARE?
We would like to try and improve things by giving lectures ourselves, if asked, by educating doctors and medical personnel in Dubai in our specialities, and through arranging for world-renowned German professors, such as Professor Dr Hartung, a Multiple Sclerosis specialist or Professor Siebler, a specialist in stroke research and treatment, to come to Dubai and share their wide range of knowledge and international experience with doctors here. We would also like the local media to publish articles on neurological or psychiatric topics as a kind of public education.
HOW HAS YOUR FIRST FEW MONTHS PRACTISING IN DUBAI WENT?
We have been busy since opening but we can certainly be a lot busier and things will pick up as DHCC becomes more established. We are preparing to become part of a German Group of Specialists in different medicines, combining our expertise for a highly efficient and integrated service. Furthermore, we are already members of the German Arab Medical Association.
Dr Brosig is one of Germany's leading and most decorated specialists and heads up German Center for Neurology and Psychiatry in Dubai Healthcare City, a first of its kind in the UAE.
Anyone wishing to arrange a consultation or check up can call +971 04 429 8578 or visit www.gnp-dubai.com
