do healthcare providers let their providers know thay they're a doctor?

[matto]

Some MDs I know have told me they prefer that their providers and the providers of their loved ones not know about their degree in medicine because they still want to be treated like a patient and given the best care. What do you guys think? What would you prefer to do?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Morsetlis]

I don't plan on getting sick.

 

[matto]

I don't plan on getting sick.

so who's chest is that

 

[AymAyzing]

I believe it is just a personality thing. In my clinic we had a doctor/patient who would come in and she wanted the WORLD to know she was a doctor. If she could have pushed my doc off the computer and ordered her own xrays and labs, she would have.

On the other hand, my doctor told me she couldn't understand why she would act that way. It is exactly like the OP says, she wanted to let her PCP make an unbiased opinion, like a fresh perspective

 

[deleted307836]

How would you avoid it though? Doctors your see, your PCP especially, will often ask you your occupation... would you just lie then? And would you want them to waste time explaining basic concepts that you as a doctor already understand? I feel like, if anything, it would only be advantageous to tell your physician that you're one as well.

I can see how it may be awkward though for some physicians to seek out medical care, especially for more minor issues.

 

[Narmerguy]

If anything, I think being an attorney is more likely to change the care you get than being a physician...

Hilarious! I might have to "become" an attorney for all my medical moments from now on...

 

[Longshanks]

The main difference it will make is what Tired has alluded to above, and that is the care you or your family receive may be biased due to you knowing the industry and system, so you're going in with more information to work with and what options to choose. That is an indirect consequence of you being a physician, and this is mentioned in one chapter in Gawande's Complications. The direct consequence is if you make it known and people then treat you differently and/or with preference. Either way, it is biased towards you receiving "better" care than the average person walking through the door essentially ignorant to the health care system.

 

[Catalystik]

I think being an attorney is more likely to change the care you get than being a physician...

I've seen that happen.

 

[45408]

It's usually pretty obvious, because they (a. don't usually see doctors often, (b. can't really avoid using words that give them away. Of the times I've cared for a physician, it was always for something pretty serious - childbirth, brain tumor, peritonitis, lymphoma, etc.

My PCP knows I'm a resident, because he sees me all the time in my white coat, and I was post-call the first time I went for an appointment, and I was still wearing scrubs. Hmmm...

 

[gettheleadout]

If anything, I think being an attorney is more likely to change the care you get than being a physician...

The true use of an MD/JD!

 

[deleted393595]

The true use of an MD/JD!

If anything, I think being an attorney is more likely to change the care you get than being a physician...

Would an attorney be more likely to be sent through excessing testing and CYA hell than a physician?

 

[Catalystik]

Would an attorney be more likely to be sent through excessing testing

I can attest that this has happened when specialists see their children.

 

[45408]

Would an attorney be more likely to be sent through excessing testing and CYA hell than a physician?

I think so. I declined a few tests my PCP wanted, because I thought they were excessive.

 

[gettheleadout]

I think so. I declined a few tests my PCP wanted, because I thought they were excessive.

"Is there anything else?"

"Well, I have a headache..."

"I'll schedule the MRI."

"Uh..."

 

[StudyShy]

When I was transferred to a different facility when I sick, the doctor wanted me to give a run down of what happened. I described my story and doing so also said that I had Rt-sided hydronephrosis and gallstones. He stopped me midway and asked what I did for a living. Cover blown.

Usually, I do not like to say that I work at a hospital unless I feel like I am getting jerked around.

 

[StudyShy]

I don't plan on getting sick.

I'd never thought that I'd end up in the hospital for over a month and then on home care for weeks while in my 20s. I was fine one month and almost dead the next. You never know what will happen to you. I sure didn't see it coming for me.

 

[tman5890]

The true use of an MD/JD!

Finally a use for it

 

[StudyShy]

Finally a use for it