difference between "eh" doctors and "exceptional" doctors

[mjl1717]

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Exceptional doctors are a good mix of competency,professionalism,skill and empathy.

At the heart of their practice they always remember that as a Physician they are to cure sometimes,to relieve often and to comfort always.

Distinctly elegant! 😀👍

 

[45408]

People tend to be too sensitive to perceived slights against them. Patients, because they are sick, even more so. Even small affronts against them, the kind we all experience everyday, can become major issues. This is a problem and demands a capable bed-side manner in physicians. Not all physicians have such great interpersonal skills (just as is true for the vast majority of the general population), but this does not mean that they go around treating patients like dirt to be trampled.

It's easy to say they're too sensitive when it's not your feelings being hurt. I saw one hospitalist tell a patient's husband bluntly, without any kind of "shot across the bow," that her brain was swelling, and she could stop breathing and die tonight. Would it really be so terrible to sit down for 5 minutes and break it a little more thoughtfully? The poor guy's wife is going to die (and she did - 3 days later).

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

It's easy to say they're too sensitive when it's not your feelings being hurt. I saw one hospitalist tell a patient's husband bluntly, without any kind of "shot across the bow," that her brain was swelling, and she could stop breathing and die tonight. Would it really be so terrible to sit down for 5 minutes and break it a little more thoughtfully? The poor guy's wife is going to die (and she did - 3 days later).

Totally. Turkeyjerky's post misses the mark in more ways than one, although he does appear to come around at the end. For one, to "treat like a bag of dirt" is a colloquialism and can't be interpreted "objectively," or as I think he meant to say, literally. Secondly, I can think of plenty of examples of physicians treating patients horribly (and EMT's, nurses, waiters, teachers, etc.). Never seen a doctor act this way? Must not spend much time around doctors, or people in general.

I had a teacher when I was in elementary school who used to literally spray us with scented air spray as we walked in the classroom because she didn't like the way kids smelled. I worked alongside other EMT's who mocked and impersonated dying patients, and threw them in the back of ambulances like luggage. I had a doctor (DO) who made me feel as though I had been sexually violated after performing a routine physical. His bedside manner was completely dehumanizing. Some people just shouldn't be working with other humans, and it's hardly an injustice to say they treat others like "bags of dirt." 🙄

 

[montessori2md]

I've never been to a doctor, skilled or unskilled, who's treated me like a piece of dirt. I've never witnessed a doctor treat a patient like dirt, nor have I ever. Likewise, I've never seen a plumber, hairdresser, acupuncturist, cashier, nurse, waiter, teacher, or random person on the street treat someone like a "piece of dirt". The only two types of people whom I have seen do this are cops and landlords (and insurance administrators, but c'mon they don't qualify as people in my book😛). Saying that someone treats another like a "piece of dirt" is really impugning their character and should be avoided unless it is objectively true.

People tend to be too sensitive to perceived slights against them. Patients, because they are sick, even more so. Even small affronts against them, the kind we all experience everyday, can become major issues. This is a problem and demands a capable bed-side manner in physicians. Not all physicians have such great interpersonal skills (just as is true for the vast majority of the general population), but this does not mean that they go around treating patients like dirt to be trampled.

Maybe you just haven't been in the right setting to see patients being treated like dirt. Or maybe you believe being treated like dirt entails assault? I suggest spending a day with your friendly board of medicine to get some experience in how stupid and mean so-called professionals can be.

 

[mjl1717]

Maybe you just haven't been in the right setting to see patients being treated like dirt. Or maybe you believe being treated like dirt entails assault? I suggest spending a day with your friendly board of medicine to get some experience in how stupid and mean so-called professionals can be.

True.. Shows how some are underexposed or may only know that "sheltered middle class life"

 

[laurafinn]

A bad doctor:
... gives up on the patient and tells them to see another doctor. This shows the doctor's incompetence and unwillingness to deal with difficult cases.

I have to disagree. If a doctor were to see a patient with a problem that a local colleague had special experience/expertise in, I see this as a mark of strength. It shows the doctor cares more about the patient than his or her own ego.

Should doctors strive to keep a robust fund of knowledge? Yes. But let's face it, not everyone can be 100% up on every disease process. It is good to know your limitations.

No doubt there are doctors who over-refer, but referring appropriately is a good thing.

 

[cisopen]

Sad but true. Exceptional doctors are derms and plastic surgeons. The rest weren't smart enough to match.