- Joined
- Jun 28, 2007
- Messages
- 1,958
- Reaction score
- 10
1) Not pronouncing your medication names right. Now I know some of them are difficult to pronounce and most people don't think about it, but when you're still calling your Lasix "Lassallax" after you've taken in for years and you've heard the doctor CALL it "LAY-ZIX" umpteen times, you think you'd catch on. Heck, half the time the names the patients come up with are longer and more complicated than the actual name of the medication.
And its cousin...
2) "Well, I take the red pill three times a day, which one is that?" Most patients don't realize that we don't usually know what color/shape/size a medication is (especially if it's a generic with multiple manufacturerers). However, when you've told a patient this multiple times (and ask they bring in a medlist/bottles) and they still try to ask you how often they should be taking the little yellow one....yaaurgh.
3) Giving people the honest appraisal on getting into medical school and their reaction. There have been numerous situations where people have said "You know, my niece/cousin/daughter/friend/sister/grandson/neighbor etc. is just starting college and he/she wants to be a doctor. How hard is it to get into medical school?" or "What would you tell them?" and I give the noncomittal reply in the tone of "It can be very difficult. There are usually twice as many applicants as there are spots and schools tend to take candidates who have excellent grades, test scores, and have a lot extracurriculat activities. I'd suggest they work extremely hard". I often get an annoyed look, like they wanted me to fire back "Oh, little Jimmy or Susie (who I've never met and know nothing about) has nothing to worry about. He'll probably get a full ride scholarship!"
4) No, X-Ray tech is NOT the same thing as a Radiologist. No, a surgery nurse is not "a surgeon". No, nurse anethetist is not the same as an anesthesia doc.
5) "You know I don't think doctors should get paid as much as they do, the nurse is the one who really cares for you." Listen, I think nurses should get paid more than they do, they do a hard job that my personality would prevent me from doing well. But every time I hear this statement I get a bit ticked off. The job of a nurse and a physician are different and both extremely important. Yes, the nurse does the hands on caring, makes you comfortable, helps you one on one. That's not a doctor's job job. his job is to make you better/keep you from dieing. The reason the doctor is not there to reposition you in bed or give you your vicodin is because he or she's out rounding on fifteen other guys who he's doing the same thing for. Ask the nurse to read your CT scan and worry about doing H&P's and putting orders in...you're going to be waiting for your IV to be changed for a while.
6) "Are you going to specialize or be a GP/Family doctor" Okay this is unfair, but it still bugs me. I always try to correct patients that EVERY newly trained doctor is a specialist. Yes, even those who do the "GP" job, they are a SPECIALIST in family/internal medicine. Specializing isn't just for the ENT or the Pediatrician.
7) "Maybe I should ask you for a loan!". Almost always said as a joke when a patient states why he can't afford something. Doesn't really bother me, but just the thought if this patient didn't even MAKE any money last year...wait a minute, as long as this patient didn't LOSE less than tens of thousands of dollars last year...and they're still doing better than me? Ugh.
8) "In my day..." Okay, this not common but I've gotten the speech from cranky old ladies who tell me "When they were my age" doctors made house calls and weren't "rich like they are today." Of course, the indignant part of me wants to explain how the salaries have only ever decreased for a physician, oh and the reason he made house calls it because he wasn't working as many hours as doctors do today, but of course I just smile and let them ramble on about the damn neighbor kids who play in their yard.
Feel free to join in.
And its cousin...
2) "Well, I take the red pill three times a day, which one is that?" Most patients don't realize that we don't usually know what color/shape/size a medication is (especially if it's a generic with multiple manufacturerers). However, when you've told a patient this multiple times (and ask they bring in a medlist/bottles) and they still try to ask you how often they should be taking the little yellow one....yaaurgh.
3) Giving people the honest appraisal on getting into medical school and their reaction. There have been numerous situations where people have said "You know, my niece/cousin/daughter/friend/sister/grandson/neighbor etc. is just starting college and he/she wants to be a doctor. How hard is it to get into medical school?" or "What would you tell them?" and I give the noncomittal reply in the tone of "It can be very difficult. There are usually twice as many applicants as there are spots and schools tend to take candidates who have excellent grades, test scores, and have a lot extracurriculat activities. I'd suggest they work extremely hard". I often get an annoyed look, like they wanted me to fire back "Oh, little Jimmy or Susie (who I've never met and know nothing about) has nothing to worry about. He'll probably get a full ride scholarship!"
4) No, X-Ray tech is NOT the same thing as a Radiologist. No, a surgery nurse is not "a surgeon". No, nurse anethetist is not the same as an anesthesia doc.
5) "You know I don't think doctors should get paid as much as they do, the nurse is the one who really cares for you." Listen, I think nurses should get paid more than they do, they do a hard job that my personality would prevent me from doing well. But every time I hear this statement I get a bit ticked off. The job of a nurse and a physician are different and both extremely important. Yes, the nurse does the hands on caring, makes you comfortable, helps you one on one. That's not a doctor's job job. his job is to make you better/keep you from dieing. The reason the doctor is not there to reposition you in bed or give you your vicodin is because he or she's out rounding on fifteen other guys who he's doing the same thing for. Ask the nurse to read your CT scan and worry about doing H&P's and putting orders in...you're going to be waiting for your IV to be changed for a while.
6) "Are you going to specialize or be a GP/Family doctor" Okay this is unfair, but it still bugs me. I always try to correct patients that EVERY newly trained doctor is a specialist. Yes, even those who do the "GP" job, they are a SPECIALIST in family/internal medicine. Specializing isn't just for the ENT or the Pediatrician.
7) "Maybe I should ask you for a loan!". Almost always said as a joke when a patient states why he can't afford something. Doesn't really bother me, but just the thought if this patient didn't even MAKE any money last year...wait a minute, as long as this patient didn't LOSE less than tens of thousands of dollars last year...and they're still doing better than me? Ugh.
8) "In my day..." Okay, this not common but I've gotten the speech from cranky old ladies who tell me "When they were my age" doctors made house calls and weren't "rich like they are today." Of course, the indignant part of me wants to explain how the salaries have only ever decreased for a physician, oh and the reason he made house calls it because he wasn't working as many hours as doctors do today, but of course I just smile and let them ramble on about the damn neighbor kids who play in their yard.
Feel free to join in.
