Guest Elliott Posted November 19, 2003 Report Share Posted November 19, 2003 Hi All, I was wondering what people's feelings and experiences may be around doctors that are in their lives right now, as in their personal physician and whether or not they have a family physician or go to clinics. I have been going to clinics as I am new to the city and am having trouble finding a permanent physician. I have noticed that on several occasions (4 out of 5) I have encountered doctors that have ill bedside manner, are hurried and impersonal and in general seem to be discontent and unhappy. This makes for a miserable experience of the whole process, especially when one is in need of medical attention. I never vocalize that I am premed, but silently observe their ways of practicing, setting and their level of interest. I would like to share my experience tonight: I have been covered in hives for over two weeks and decided after much itching, scratching, moaning and groaning to see a physician. When I got there, I waited 20 minutes in the examining room for her (not that this is that big of a wow, but in all fairness it was late and the clinic was dead). When she finally came into see me, she didn't even sit down to be at eye level with me but stood up while I told her about my symptoms. She was like "Stand up", in a very authoritarian manner, and looked at me, sat down, wrote me a prescription for hydro-cortisone (which I don't need as I have been using it for over two weeks and really don't enjoy the left over red spots from it and the cream does nothing) and the proceeded to walk out of the room without anything further. I had another question for her and actually had to ask her to stop cause I needed to ask her one more thing. I was very polite the entire time and even tried to joke with her to lighten the mood. She didn't even say have a good night. Personally, I was appalled and felt really upset by this. I was wondering how others feel if and when they encounter these types of professionals, that we are one day going to be. LOL - I felt like going back there and shaking my finger at her saying, "shame on you". I find solace in the fact that I know I will be able to give more of myself to my patients than that, even if I am tired and having a bad day. That was just plain rude. Sometimes I wonder why certain people have become doctors, and why they chose to stay in the profession if they are so disenchanted by the whole process... Any thoughts? Elliott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted November 19, 2003 Report Share Posted November 19, 2003 Yeah, the Canadian Health Care System has problems right now. There aren't enough primary care providers (or really secondary care providers either) and the renumeration system is geared to encourage physicians to process volume, not quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RageoftheDragon Posted November 19, 2003 Report Share Posted November 19, 2003 Stories like that really disturb me. I've been lucky enough to have generally well mannered and intelligent doctors, so I've never had to face that kind of situation. However, while reading it, I did think of what I would have done in your situation. I would have followed the doctor out and started in with my questions, and if the doctor tried to pass me off without really answering me, I probably would have told the doc off. Seriously, if the prescription was for more non-funtional hydro-cortisone, then the doc obviously never did a good enough work up in the first place, and I would have let it know. Just becuase we're the 'consumer' in this case doesn't mean we have to be at the whim of the doctor, especially in the case of those of us in these forums, as we generally have more knowledge about health issues than the public at large. If you have to go back, I strongly encourage you to stand up for yourself and your right to well provided health care. After all, I highly doubt you'll go back to this particular doc, knowing what how brutal her mannerisms are, so if she gets whiny when you stand up to her, it's no skin off your ass. G'luck finding a better doc. RotD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Elliott Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 Hi RotD - I wish I had the guts to say something! I know that it would have been the right thing to do. I was brought up in a "respect your elders" and "Don't talk back or question those older than you" family. I am gonna have to work on that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest driedcaribou Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 I hate to generalize but I find doctors at the clinics to be subpar in general... at least all the ones I've dealt with and the ones I've heard about. They tend to hand out prescriptions like candy. I've dealt with 3 wonderful family practice docs with a private practice that were wonderful but the new doctor that came in when my normal doctor wasn't available was pretty horrible when it came to a physical assessment and a diagnosis. I'd tell off bad doctors if I could but I'm afraid that they'll put something in my chart or provide substandard care for me. I've dealt with specialists with horrible bedside manner before too. Makes me speculate that they probably went into Medicine for the prestige and the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ibraheem Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 When i become a doctor, i would never do that to a person, my way would be to interact with the patitent, and keep then occupied for the time they are there and comfort them... if i were you i would just change my doctor... >: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steak Posted November 23, 2003 Report Share Posted November 23, 2003 Hey All, Some interesting points above, but it's interesting that nobody appears to have put much consideration into the doc's perspective. Having worked a few years in IT tech support, I think I can claim (without trying to exaggerate its importance) that it is somewhat analogous to medecine (prim care at least) in many respects. I'm not excusing bad manners, and I don't at all dispute that there are several docs out there with bad manners and alterior motives. However, those of you who have spent time in clinics from the care provider perspective know that even when you're not exhausted and overworked, your "customers" are often arrogant, insulting, and quite rude themselves. As I said, this doesn't excuse poor manners or inadequte interpersonal skills, but just remember that one interaction with a doctor (or person in general) probably isn't sufficient to pass judgement on their demeanor in general. Just another perspective.. Steak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest driedcaribou Posted November 23, 2003 Report Share Posted November 23, 2003 Steak: It's one thing to be rude but another to prescribe the wrong treatment, which is another point the original poster was complaining about. Also, we're not talking about one doctor here. We're talking about experiences with several doctors who are consistently poor. Yes, fatigue definitely plays a part in a doctor's mood but this is a job where dealing with a patient is part of the job description. As for doctors with ulterior motives, I am certain that there are many doctors out there who came in to the profession wanting to help people that end up being rude doctors without knowing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.