Comments on: Why I’m a Bad Doctor – Part I

By: Emily

Emily — Sun, 20 May 2012 19:39:26 +0000

THANK YOU!

I am a nurse. Not only am I floored by the customer service stance that hospitals and medicare are taking, I think it is a quite dangerous idea to institute. So, medicare, you are going to refuse payment based on a patients opinion of customer service? The first quote I think of when I think of customer service and satisfaction is, “the customer is always right”. Well, in medicine that is just not true. In fact, the customer is often times wrong. That is why they come to us. Nursing school and, by leaps and bounds, medical school are held to a level of expertise and knowledge that most people either cannot achieve or have no desire to achieve. That is fine. However, it also means that going online and diagnosing yourself doesn’t make you right. Do you want just any old person who can research WebMD to treat you or care for you in the hospital? I think not. That is why you require professionals who have gone through specialized degree programs and passed nationally recognized boards to be in charge of your care. I’m not saying we are infallible, but many of our patients are. I’m not being disrespectful; I wouldn’t do my job if I didn’t love an respect my patients. I am simple speaking the truth. If you don’t like it, see if WebMD can cure you…and let me know of the outcome.

By: 3rd case of falls

3rd case of falls — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:15:20 +0000

Had the patient been screened for cognative dysfunction, and what cognative assessment test was used? Results? Also, was there any possiblity of medication (by combination or confusion) contributing to the repeated falls?

By: james

james — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 10:22:23 +0000

CJ Gross – you have clearly no idea of the daily stresses or demans placed on doctors, nurses, physiotherapist and the many others involved in patient care.
On a daily basis, doctors are dealing with very unwell patients, and have to make life/death decisions, they work long & often thankless hours, and on top of that have to deal with very demanding, unpleasant people who feel entitled to be rude, aggressive and nasty because they do not feel the ‘right test’ has been done or they don’t like that recommended course of treatment.
CJ – you obviously don’t work in a job that exposes you to high numbers of people on a daily basis and have little understanding of what these medical staff face.

By: CJ Gross

CJ Gross — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:09:53 +0000

Yeah, I’d have to agree. You are a bad doctor. perhaps consider a job where you don’t have to deal with people because you are obviously very unskilled in that department. It is a shame that people like you are in the medical field at all. Do you remember taking the Hippocratic Oath . . . try to remember what it says. Try to remember why you are a doctor in the first place. It’s not to pretend that you are God. It’s not to look down on others. You are a truly unfortunate soul. Give your patients a break, get out of the field immediately. As a doctor, you should strive to have every patient say that you are exemplary. The fact that you sarcastically call yourself a bad doctor really says it all. Poor poor you.

By: Pat Whitmore

Pat Whitmore — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:11:08 +0000

I don’t think doctors today are as concerned about their patients’ health as they once were. It could be that they are required to do more paperwork for the insurance companies who pay them, and they spend a proportionately larger amount of time on that paperwork. Also, I don’t think they are as honest and straight forward as they once were. I’m sure it is difficult to give bad news to a patient, but there comes a time when you have to step up to the plate. If you’re a wimp, you shouldn’t be a doctor. Becoming a good doctor takes more than financial resources, and the ability to pass tests and get through school; many people can do those things. A good doctor is one who can respect the patient, empathize with a given patient, and put themselves in the patient’s shoes. A doctor who hides from his or her responsibilities is not a doctor at all and should, perhaps, considering leaving the field.

By: Rissa

Rissa — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:36:35 +0000

Not a doc…I do the mental health.

In response to all the OPs who suggest that this doc was “rude” or otherwise inconsiderate:
Gads of Americans are turning into pansies. We go to the doctor for ANYthing.
P: “Uh, hey doc, it hurts when I punch myself here.”
D: “Then don’t punch yourself.”
P: “What? You aren’t going to do any tests? I could be dyin’ here!”

I’m sorry, but I just don’t see how coddling an impatient patient does the patient one lick of good. It teaches them that EVERYTHING is worth of a doctor’s visit and that EVERYTHING needs medical treatment to resolve.

Which is B.S.

By: a doc and a mom

a doc and a mom — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:12:16 +0000

I think this whole needing a note for school day absence thing is absurd, and places families and physicians in adversarial positions.

I missed a day of work last week for gastroenteritis with vomiting. It passed in 24 hours and I didn’t go to any doctor, of course.

It’s paradoxical and oppressive to expect me to take more time off of work to overbook into a busy doctor’s schedule to get a note ‘excusing’ me for my absence.

Parents can decide when it benefits their children to miss a day of school. And quite frankly, the reason might have nothing whatsoever to do with their physical health in any case.

By: Laughioff

Laughioff — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:33:29 +0000

Being a Doctor in general is very trying at times. Its long hours and you encounter, at times, difficult patients and family members. I find your blog to be a good example of how ridiculous people can be. The first case sound like she may have wanted pain medcation, or not. At the same time, who could blame her, 4 days in pain is not a fun thing, trust me, its not. The second case is a joke. Yes, while the little boy is shakend up, sedative probably should be administered to calm hi down. To have him putuder General Anesthesia is insane. There is always a risk with GA And all over a 1cm cut, insane. To request a plastic surgeon is outageous too, if the mom and grandmom thought this doctor was bad, wait until they meet the plastic surgeon. If that plastic surgeon came down an seen the 1cm cut he would not be happy. He/she would probably turn around and say, are you kidding me, this is a waste of my time. The third case, unfortunately, all the poor man’s tests have been normal, and no one seems to id a explaination, I think using a walker is a good idea, becauase if he had another episode, te walker will provide him with support. However, medicare does require ligeitiment reason for a hospital admition, a docot just can’t say, oh ok, you wanted your loved one admitted, ok sure, no problem. There is a protocol that must be filed. Just like is a patient has insurance and they wanted to leave the hospital after say being there for 2 weeks, and they sign out AMA, which I strongly suggest you don’t, your insurance company now is not required to pay for your hospital stay, which mens yo will get the bill. Your insurance campany doesn’t not have to pay for your admition if there isn’t a legitment reason. USA offers wonderful healthcare, not I am all for a healthcare reform. I don’t know you, but from your blog, I don’t think you are a bad doctor. The patients and family probably didn’t like your staight forward answers and questions, they probably wanted you to baby them. Everyone always wantsto blame the doctors. The problem is is that when it comes to healthcare no one wants to hear mistakes, and in reality, humans are not perfect, and doctors are human. Everyone is so quick to point the finger at the dctors. They want to complain about little things, a 1cm cut, a mouth sore. I am not trying to gain pitty, but you don’t know what bad is. I had a lap chole in 2007 and I am still sick from it I have had 16 surgries in 2 1/2 years, the most recent being the end of Jan.2010, and I now, no longer have a belly button. And I don’t complain. Yeah, do I sometimes get upset that I am 25 and have had to put to my life on hold, with school and work, especially when I see my friends gradating college, getting married, having kids, yeah. Talk about needing a plastic surgeon, I am going to need abdominal reconstruction, and someone is radical over a 1cm cut. you don’t know anything. When I would go to doctors, I would sit in the waiting room and I could always tell who did’t have any medical experience because they would be the ones freaking out and yelling at te staff. Someone people just don’t have any class. They want what hey want right now. And as for the doctors being “bad”. Like I stated before, I have been sick since 2007, and I had to go to the ER numerous times. And I would most of the time be sent home because the ct scans would be normal, but I was still in so much pain. Well I use to work at the hospital where I would go to the ER and where I had surgery. And I know if it is seen that you have had frequent ER visits it is assumed you are “drug seeking” but I wasn’t, and on one occassion, I was in so much pain, my friend took me to the ER. I waited 3 hrs in the waiting room and when I got back there i was given a GI cocktail and told, we are not good at the chronic pain stuff but the life threatening stuff they are really good, gave me a shot of toradol and discharged me home, not lab work no nothing. Healthcare, in the USA is wonderful!! Not!!

By: Barbara

Barbara — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:01:00 +0000

My fathers doctor kept saying the same thing this doctor was saying so after multiple doctor appointments with him saying he was just getting old (He was 66!) we went to another doctor and guess what, he has parkinsons disease!

By: TODK

TODK — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:22:20 +0000

Your response in all three situations was adequate. Better than most I would say. However, I would suggest that you learn to base the tone and wording of your response according to the level of intelligence of the person are dealing with. You responded to each of the three patients and or their family member, as if they were highly educated medical doctors. Since their IQs may have been average or below, they considered you to be arrogant and uncaring, even though your response were direct an accurate.