Wait, now I remember why I wanna go DO!

[turkdlit]

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Today I went to the dermatologist (an MD) to have these strange postule-like bumps on my abdominal area checked out. I was referred to him by my PCP.

The diagnosis I recieved was limited to the dialogue below:

MD: Lets take a look

Turk (shows tum-tum): THey've been there for ~4 months. My PCP gave me a topical med but it didn't do anything

MD: It could be overactive sebaceous glands

(long pause)

Turk: Is there a specific reason why this might be happening, or why its localized in this area

MD: Everybody is different. There's nothing I can do here (gets up and leaves

Turk: <What a f*cking dillhole>

To top it off I go to checkout, and they ask for my copayment. I ask if they take credit cards, and they don't. So I ask them to bill me. The doc, who was nearby, hears this and comes to and says they won't bill and payment is *expected immediately following treatment*. The receptionist tells me to walk 4 blocks away from the office, where I can find an ATM. I give them a piece of my mind and don't return.

Seriously, is this the way patients should be treated. I know not all docs will examine cases like this in much depth, but jeeze! He failed to ask the name of the medication I was previously on, and failed to look at ANY other aspect of my health, other than just looking at the problem area.

I'm not trying to say, "all MDs will do this and DOs won't", but where's the love for your patient! Please, no MD/DO flamewars, just sharing my experience.

 

[Amy B]

I know where your coming from. Good post. No flaming from me.😎

 

[Dr Sum Day]

that totally sucks...what a quiter...you need a doc who will fight to figure out the problem. hope you can find a more receptive physician. 🙁

 

[blondarb]

I don't post often, but this one kinda gets me. I know it was likely made in jest, but the idea that a DO Derm would have treated you any differently or been more compassionate to you is ludicrous.

I'm a fourth year DO student as is my wife (not trying to start a flame war). She is trying to get into Derm (which sucks to get into BTW) and has worked with many DO derm people. Take my word for it that almost all Dermatologists (DO or MD) act this way. Derm is a field where the majority of people are into lifestyle and cash.

good luck getting in.

s

 

[PT to D.O./M.D.]

I work at a large Ambulatory Care Center with both D.O.'s and M.D.'s and - to be fair - and to avoid another DO / MD war - I hear this experience all the time and it really comes down to individuals more than a degree. If you are an a**hole then you are an a**hole. The degree doesn't make a difference. Good luck finding a good Doc!!

 

[Nater44]

Originally posted by PT to D.O./M.D.
I work at a large Ambulatory Care Center with both D.O.'s and M.D.'s and - to be fair - and to avoid another DO / MD war - I hear this experience all the time and it really comes down to individuals more than a degree. If you are an a**hole then you are an a**hole. The degree doesn't make a difference. Good luck finding a good Doc!!

\

Agreed, but different degrees attract different people. There may be a slant towards one and not the other. That's all I'm saying 🙄

 

[turkdlit]

Please note, from my original post:

"I know not all docs will examine cases like this in much depth"

and

"I'm not trying to say all MDs will do this and DOs won't"

But yes, I do see your point, based on the subject title of my post, you could say I'm being biased, but my PCP is a DO, and I have close relationships with 2 other DOs. They've always treated me more like a person, asked about other aspects of my health when I've gone to see them, and made me feel comfortable. I know there are MDs out there like this, and thus its been my personal experience that DOs are more personable. Am I wrong, but don't they emphasize this during school moreso than MDs?

Also, blondarb, you're saying I'm making a generalization b/t DO and MD, while you make one with all dermatologists. My old derm, which was an MD, made me feel very comfortable and spent a good amount of time with me (she has unfortunately moved since then).

I do still believe, however, that if one were to see all the DOs and MDs in this country, you would get more humane treatment from the DO, on average. If this doesn't hold true then the osteopathic schools aren't practicing what they preach.

But at the same time, the treatment has to vary with the individual.

 

[raptor5]

Oh I was under the impression that D.O. adcoms were supposed to weed out A**HOLES and send them to their respective MD school. Just kidding. That experience with the DERM sucks and I hope someone will shoot me if I ever become like that.

raptor5

 

[Amy B]

I think posts like this are important to us, the future DOs and MDs of this country. The more we are reminded about how not to treat patients the better doctors we will be.

It is not whether we are DOs or MDs, but rather are we the best doctor we can be regardless of the initals that follow our name.

 

[Robz]

I am just happy you gave them a piece of your mind and walked out. Screw that paying for no work and on top not being treated like a human. I'd go back to your PCP and tell them never to suggest that person again.

 

[DOtobe]

Originally posted by PT to D.O./M.D.
IIf you are an a**hole then you are an a**hole. The degree doesn't make a difference.

👍

I agree with this 100%. I don't think we DO's have a monopoly on being caring doctors and the MD's are the cocky ones. There are good and bad doctors of both types. The initials are irrelevant.

Like Amy B said, we need to all be the best doctor we can be!

 

[YellowRose]

the DO i'm rotating with right now is a total Dick to me and his patients. gotta tough it out for another week. its based on the individual, not the profession.

 

[fabiolablake]

Originally posted by YellowRose
the DO i'm rotating with right now is a total Dick to me and his patients. gotta tough it out for another week. its based on the individual, not the profession.

What is the specialty? Good luck with the rest of the rotation!!!

Blake

 

[bigmuny]

I've seen both MD and DO with serious personality problems. The degree does not make a difference(though I'd like to think it does). I've been truly amazed at how condescending and arrogant some doc's can be, and even more amazing that they get return visits from patients. Being nice and respecting patients, other than being the right thing to do, is good for business and I've been told keeps malpractice claims down(supposedly this has been studied). I don't think any medical school is going to turn an a-hole into an angel, or the opposite.

 

[freesolo]

my doctor once told me i'm faking my sickness. And yes i had to pay for that! I get back home im throwing up blood =/.

 

[KUMC_MD]

not all docs on either side are always good

i shadowed a doc that was a do, he usually did a good job, but there were a few cases that he seemed to be in such a hurry to do his thing and leave, it was pathetic, he was not mean or anything, just not very good sometimes... like one time he looked over the patients file, said a few things about her leg, then said he was basically done and no treatment needed and proceed to leave, she then quickly asked him about her blood pressure... he stopped... turned around and sat back down, went over the file again, and prescribed some blood pressure meds, he then proceeded to leave, then she asked if she is supposed to take that in combination with her other blood pressure meds, he stopped, turned around sat back down and went through the file, took back the previous prescription, told to take the one she is currently taking 2 times as much and then wrote a prescription for her legs skin, and then left.

yes folks, that was a DO, and i was there shadowing him at the time....

he was not always like that, but a few times he was..... just fyi that not everyone is perfect all of the time....

 

[twaspatz]

some docs are pricks, some docs have hearts of gold. Some care, some don't. DO or MD doesn't matter as much as whether they got some last night.

 

[turkdlit]

Yeah, I agree twaspatz...I wrote that post right after I met with this dillhole derm and was pissed, so there was some irrationality behind it. Definately, gettin a piece of...uh, twaspatz I guess, the night before would help me treat my patients with a smile too. 😀

 

[EReze]

Whoa. Did you go to a doctor or a Vet. Yeah, i'm glad you walked out. that doctor just sucked in general. He did NO work!

hummm... note to self:

Become a dermatologist.

 

[Tbonez]

Let me just say , DO/MD doesn't cause a doctors personality, it may influence it a little, but basically, we all have our own quirks no matter what school we decide to go to. I don't like the DO advertising of "viewing the patient as a whole instead of just their disease". That's a bunch of crap. MD's don't do that as a whole, anymore than all DO's "pop everyone's backs to fix their asthma". No one likes stereotypes, and I hate to see the DO talking heads try to keep "seperate but equal". Come on folks. When minority race groups try that, we all know what happens. The majority resent it. It's like having a Miss Black USA pageant. The worst thing someone can do for race relations is something like that. The white folks can't have a Miss White USA so they resent the black folks (just a little bit, mind you, and mostly behind closed doors, but they still do). Same goes for MD/DO. DO can do MD residency, but not vice-versa, supposedly because of no OMT training? Come on, gimme a break! What's the last time you saw an surgeon use OMT in a DO gen. surg. residency? You want to break the stigma? You want to make it equal? Then don't make the MD's out to be the "crappy, uncaring, A**holes", and they won't make you out to be the "back popping, too dumb to get into a MD school, quacks". By the way, I am a pre-DO, by the way. I just can't stand to see this us vs. them stuff in one post, and then whining about a stigma in another. ENOUGH! We will all be DOCTORS who practice MEDICINE. Who cares what letters are back there 'hind ur name?? Truth? Only you do.

 

[turkdlit]

Homey, check out the posts before yours, we've already established this as a non-stigma thread 😛 Relax...

 

[Tbonez]

Yeah I know. Was just having a frustrating venting moment. Wheew.