Insensitive doctors.

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The NY Times ran an article about this today. Here is a quote:

"Patients say the problems come in many guises. The arrogant or dismissive doctor. The impatient doctor with his hand on the doorknob. The patronizing doctor. Or, as one young woman experienced, the doctor who is callous and judgmental."

It seems to me that the worst ones are the most specialized ones. My asthma specialist is pleasant and very willing to listen and try to understand. Our gastro-intestinal specialist is the same. Both of these men serve also as primary care physicians on top of their specialties.

But! Over the years we have each seen orthopedic men for hand problems. Both are hand specialists. One is located very nearby, the other is located some miles away in the town where we used to live. Both are highly respected for their ability, and are connected with equally highly respected teaching hospitals. The one who is nearby is unfortunately, judgemental, arrogant, confrontational, and just plain rude (and this we have heard from other people; it's not just us.) The one who is further away isn't particularly empathetic, but is at least businesslike and polite.

Is it a case of the more specialized the more impersonal? Or if our problems had been more serious, more involved - more interesting shall we say? - would the businesslike one have unbent a little? Would the local man have changed his don't-dare-to-question-me attitude?

What does anyone think?

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I think any given field or area or rank or whatever has a bunch of different types. I burned through 3 or 4 ENT specialists before landing on one I like (and I REALLY like him!)

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I left my endocrinologist after only a month because he was arguing with me about my treatment choice, even though he'd given me the option. And he was pushing me to do something permanant and he made me feel badly for wanting to exhaust every other option first. He was a real prick.

My primary physican is the same way. Or was, untill I was seen, quite by accident one day, by one of his collegues. My old primary was always in a hurry even though I'd wait for 30 minutes in the room for him. He cut me off. He made my medical questions seem trivial and stupid. My new primary is probably only in his 30's and aside from being kinda cute, he listens! He asks questions and takes the time to answer mine. He and I had a great conversation when I was in to see him last. He was polite and sympathetic and I thought he was great. Unfortunatly, I had to go in for a surpise visit the other day and I had to go with the old primary. What a dink.

My thoughts are YOU are paying THEM so in essence you are the customer. Don't settle for a crappy doctor. The good ones are out there.

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BBB

sozobe wrote:

I think any given field or area or rank or whatever has a bunch of different types. I burned through 3 or 4 ENT specialists before landing on one I like (and I REALLY like him!)

I won't go into the details, but I'm recovering from a very close call over the last six months for my right leg, the one in which a knee replacement prothesis was installed in 1980. I developed circulation problems that resulted in a very dangerous infection and severe skin reaction and immune system attack that threatened the prothesis. Amputation was a possibility.

After receiving emergency treatment for the infection, I had the great good fortune to be finally be referred to the hospital's Wound Clinic. The staff there, over one and one-half months, literally saved my leg with professional and assuring treatments until I could get an appointment with a Dermatologist for a diagnosis. They were insistent that I be seen sooner than the next available date in February 2006 because it was evident that I had a rare medical problem.

This morning, after getting my annual flu shot, my primary care physician and her nurse saw my leg and it was hugs and tears all around.

I've run in to some stinker doctors in my life. The people who've been caring for me since I moved to Albuquerque have been wonderful human beings and outstanding professionals.

BA

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Yikes, BBB. Glad you got such good care.

Yep, I've run into plenty of stinkers. (Dentists, too, have gone into that before.) I very much agree with Bella that we, as patients, have a responsibility to not accept unacceptable care and keep looking for the right doctor -- and there are good ones out there.

Ideally, of course, every doctor would be a good one and we wouldn't have to look. And so nice when you luck out on the first try, as BBB did.

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(I take it that the hugs and tears mean that the crisis is over? I'm not sure. That sounds like a horrible ordeal.)

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Sozobe

sozobe wrote:

(I take it that the hugs and tears mean that the crisis is over? I'm not sure. That sounds like a horrible ordeal.)

So far, the crisis is over. They were so happy to see my improved leg. It was very emotional because they were so worried about me.

BBB

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My sense of this is that the most callous MDs tend to work in assemply-line clinics. At least that's been my experience. They give out info, including tough diagnoses, as though they can't wait to get out of the exam room and get to the next patient.

I had one eat a sandwich as she ran a test--this I didn't mind--then drop a bomb on me and run out of the door. That was my last appt with THAT clinic...

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I had a hideous experience with my first radiologist--and a much happier time the second go-round with three radiology technicians.

Some physicians seem sure that their MD degrees were bestowed by God Almighty (usually a very male diety).

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Insensitive doctors.
There you are - M.D. = Male Deity. And don't some of them know it!!

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Ummm, not entirely. My anecdote concerned a woman doctor. Many male doctors are caring--I don't want to see them all tarred with the same brush!

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I too had an awful female doctor. Ugh! What a bitch. She told me to "take a pill" and get out. Well, basically. Not literally.

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I have a friend who is overweight. And her doctor asked her in a very rude tone of voice if she had ever been under 150lbs. This friend of mine goes to the gym regularly, eats healthy (I eat with her several times a week), and is overall very conscious of her weight. I suspect she has a metabolism or thyroid problem. But her doctor called her fat, told her she need to work out more, and left it at that. I think doctors need to be more sensitive to the fact that weight issues aren't always the patients fault.

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I can vouch for the fact that doctors are not sympathetic to overweight patients. When I told my doctor that during treatment I was worried about excessive weight gain, he shrugged it off and basically told me that should I get fat, so what. Which is another reason I left him.

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Insensitive doctors.

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