Understanding a condition can be straightforward in some cases, such as an apparent infection. However, other conditions may be more complex and require extra time and effort. In such cases, having a trusted doctor who knows your medical history can be invaluable—working together toward a diagnosis and treatment by piecing together various symptoms and clues, like a puzzle. Of course, such a process is unnecessary in an acute situation like a dental abscess next to a damaged tooth. Then it is a simple diagnosis, easy to make, and should be treated without delay. However, in complex conditions, such as different anxiety disorders or chronic diseases like heart failure or diabetes, having a doctor who knows you is very helpful.
My name is Sven Hagnerud, and I have had a broad education as a family medicine specialist. As such, I have learned to interpret symptoms occurring in all organs of the body, which allows one to look at the big picture holistically. To become a specialist in family medicine, you work in primary health care centers and in hospitals where you rotate among different fields. Additionally, I have worked extensively with emergency healthcare and have training in ATLS (acute trauma life support) and AMLS (acute medical life support). On the Patient Portal, all duties carried out are specified in detail.
I am also a specialist in psychiatry. As a psychiatrist, you understand behaviors. You categorize them to arrive at a diagnosis and suggestions for treatment. Some behaviors are completely normal and those should be left without treatment. For other behaviors treatment such as therapy or medication is needed
Even though psychiatric diagnosis is based on categorizing different behaviors, this does not mean that psychiatric illness should not also be understood from the perspective of underlying mechanisms, with humility in the face of the complexity of psychiatry. For example, a condition such as depression can have various causes, such as traumatic events, different social or relational causes, developmental disorders like ADHD, or purely biomedical causes. It is important to meet the patient with an understanding of that complexity. Although the psychiatric specialty is older than the specialty of family medicine, knowledge in psychiatry today changes very rapidly. For example, consider the history of ADHD and the development that is taking place in the field of knowledge today. This is just one example of the complexity of psychiatry. On the Patient Portal, my duties and training in psychiatry are presented in further detail.
Also, I have done research in immunology and presented a mid-seminar, equivalent to half of a doctoral degree (PhD). My research focused on the receptor/ligand CD47, which plays a role in the body´s ability to determine whether or not to initiate an immune response. It has given me an immunological way of thinking and understanding of how our immune system works, with its different shifts, throttling, and braking mechanisms, as well as all its cells in different transformations with advanced communication systems. In immunology, development moves at breakneck speed, and few things are so exciting. I have also recently participated in the first group project ECHO with a special focus on the connection between mental symptoms and immunology.
