FP Challenges His Patients to 'Walk the Talk'

"It's all about the prep."

That's the mantra behind a fitness challenge issued by FP Michael Orzechowski, M.D., to his patients in Anchorage, Alaska. Inspired by a marathon he and his wife walked earlier this year, Orzechowski ("Dr. Mike" to his patients) now is inspiring his patients to do likewise.

When Orzechowski told his patients about the marathon he and his wife had walked, several expressed an interest in doing the same thing. Orzechowski and his physician assistant, who also is an athlete, decided to issue a two-fold challenge to all 4,500 patients in the practice: First, they'll walk half a marathon in June; then, for those who wish to do so, they'll walk a whole marathon in August.

So far, just through word of mouth, the practice has almost two dozen patients who are interested, and Orzechowski expects many more will join the challenge team before June. However, the end result is not what he is concentrating on. For Orzechowski, it's less about the destination than it is about the journey. This contest "is for my couch potatoes," he says, not for his patients who already are athletes.

He says he thinks it's the six months leading up to the event that is what it's all about. "If you don't prepare for such an event, you die," he says.

So, starting in January, Orzechowski will start a training program for all participating patients. Once a month, they'll all get together and walk. And Orzechowski, who also has a certificate of added qualification in sports medicine, will teach them how to train safely to avoid injury. In addition, Orzechowski is pairing up his nonathletic patients with his more experienced, athletic patients. The athletes will provide more intensive, one-on-one training for the inexperienced patients.

For other family physicians who are interested in doing something similar in their own practices, Orzechowski encourages them to "start off slowly, be practical and take small victories over large ones." Don't expect patients to run a marathon right away, he says. Help them make some small changes in their lives to make themselves healthier, and find ways to tie those lifestyle changes to things that interest them.