Re: Reflections on good doctors and not so good

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

I am certainly not saying there are not good, better and best doctors out there, and even poor ones. I know - i had to follow their orders and when they were not appropriate I was the one who had to call our intensivist to correct them.

However, it is also my experience that what various patients want and/or expect from a doctor is often very inappropriate and many patients say some doctor is a bad doctor because they won't give what is asked for, even though it is inappropriate.Some people want their doctor to discuss everything but their health - wrong - some want to know all about the doctor's personal life - also wrong - some want to come in with a list of demands for Rx and / or treatments and get really Po'ed when they don't get them. Some have already self diagnosed and are Po'ed when the doctor tells them they are wrong. Some people think the doctor doesn't do a through enough exam and others absolutely do not want to be touched. It is a very difficult profession and it's almost impossible to please everyone.

Reba055 · ‎06-23-2014

This reminds me of going to a new doc who wanted to prescribe a med similar in class to one I had taken and had a bad reaction to. When I asked what I should do if I had a reaction, call him, he said, "no, go to the ER". So basically he insisted I try something but couldn't be bothered if I had an issue with it. Next!

Vivian · ‎03-11-2010

I so appreciate all the replies. We've all had our experiences, good and bad, with physicians. I think the reason I put out my original post is that I'm one of those people who researches doctors and checks out the validity and reliability of advice. However, when you're in an emergency situation, it's a whole other matter. So, when I turned to some of those doctors whom I had chosen over the years, I felt they cared. Yet another was so casual and blasé, I wondered if she read my test results or even cared. Another, whom I saw rarely but needed desperately, was a great disappointment. Live and learn.

Seannie · ‎05-19-2010

It is very hard, I think, to ever recover when you have a careless surgeon. My

surgeon for my lumpectomy for breast cancer failed to read the pathology

before my re-excision ( or second surgery) and I had to have a third surgery

on the same area a third time after I'd healed. Could not begin cancer

treatments until the bad part was removed. Two years later I have loads

of pain and scar tissue and white coat syndrome (and distrust). The surgeon

was very casual about the whole thing (said everyone makes mistakes), but

when the surgeon doesn't do their job, the patient suffers all the consequences

and the surgeon suffers none. They don't even get reprimanded.

This, to me, is a travesty. The worst part is knowing that I, myself, chose this

surgeon over all the others in town and now it looks like I'll be dealing with

lifelong pain due to my decision.

Seannie

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

@Q4u wrote:
My doctor is very sharp and caring BUT recently advised me to change my Diabetes medicine to the new class that just came out. I did some extensive research on it and (short story) found a study from UCLA's Medical School from 2013 that pointed to everyone having taken it for a year developed tumors (benign that can turn cancerous and do). That this info was found out through animal studies and kept from the public! There is a lawsuit pending. I'm disappointed that my doctor apparently didn't do her own research regarding this new drug... and probably just took the word of the drug rep ....
OR (and I hate to think it but I do) she has money invested in it.

I'm actively searching for another doctor.....

I agraee, look up doctor's ratings (mine was extremely high)... and always... always research your meds....

I think it's important that MDs stay on top of new drugs and new developments, but I have a policy that hasn't failed me yet...

I tell all my doctors that I won't take a medication that hasn't been on the market for at least 5 years ... no exceptions!

My thoughts are:

1) it has to be tried and tested by the public and see if any problems with the drug arise. How many times have we seen a drug notification on TV that says "if you took this drug and your arm fell off, call this number ...". You know what I mean, lol. IMO, five years is enough time to bring to light any problems....

and ..

2) It has a cheaper generic now being available.

Yes, I don't get to try the "next best thing", but I prefer "proven and reliable" each and every time.

ginirn · ‎04-30-2010

I am a reitred nurse so I understand. Out of a class of 100 Dr.s 10% are outstanding, 70% ok and the rest really bad. The non medical patients often can't tell the good from the bad basing their opinions on strange criteria. My Dad thought his Dr. was great because he brought him a newspaper while Dad was in the hospital. If the Dr. had been half way decent he wouldn't have been admitted. Many people just go by personality but believe me some of the best Drs I have known would win no prizes for personality. Some really good one are so intent of their patients they forget the nicities, yell at the nurses etc. The smoozers can get away with alot of poor medicine.

When I was much younger I moved alot due to my husband's job. Alway sought out a nurse I respected to choose a Dr., dentist, etc. They know the behind the scenes info that is important.

NAES1 · ‎09-02-2011

@ginirn "....great post! I agree with you on doctors versus personalities. I thought that out of a class of one hundred doctors 70% was > Yes, just okay, if that! I do believe that there are physicians who should _never_ have chosen to be defined as a health care provider. I am observing more and more SLOPPY medicine every day.

AND! Yes,

the average patient who is under an one and only doctor is absolutely clueless ...'what good medical care is'.

I believe I can say, without any doubts, there are more bad/non-caring people in the medical field, today, than ever before.

Research each one, and never be limited in asking a trusted physician for her/his referral(s) when needed".

NAES

Q4u · ‎03-17-2010

@Tinkrbl44 wrote:
@Q4u wrote:
My doctor is very sharp and caring BUT recently advised me to change my Diabetes medicine to the new class that just came out. I did some extensive research on it and (short story) found a study from UCLA's Medical School from 2013 that pointed to everyone having taken it for a year developed tumors (benign that can turn cancerous and do). That this info was found out through animal studies and kept from the public! There is a lawsuit pending. I'm disappointed that my doctor apparently didn't do her own research regarding this new drug... and probably just took the word of the drug rep ....
OR (and I hate to think it but I do) she has money invested in it.

I'm actively searching for another doctor.....

I agraee, look up doctor's ratings (mine was extremely high)... and always... always research your meds....

I think it's important that MDs stay on top of new drugs and new developments, but I have a policy that hasn't failed me yet...

I tell all my doctors that I won't take a medication that hasn't been on the market for at least 5 years ... no exceptions!

My thoughts are:

1) it has to be tried and tested by the public and see if any problems with the drug arise. How many times have we seen a drug notification on TV that says "if you took this drug and your arm fell off, call this number ...". You know what I mean, lol. IMO, five years is enough time to bring to light any problems....

and ..

2) It has a cheaper generic now being available.

Yes, I don't get to try the "next best thing", but I prefer "proven and reliable" each and every time.

You're plan to NOT take any drug newer than 5 years is exceptionally good, but I'll go one step further. I'd take it 10 to 15 years and the reasoning is that five years isn't enough time to see what the new drug has done to the public yet..... five years and there may be trouble brewing but not yet enough stats to point to a clear correlation between the drug and serious problems.

I predict that there will be a dirth of cancer = new class of Diabetes drug within the next ten years.

In my case Metformin was developed back in the 1950's and Glipiside in 1983.

*~"Never eat more than you can lift......" Miss Piggy~*

Black Cat Back · ‎03-21-2010

I'm very skeptical of doctors. Both my parents were diagnosed with 4th stage cancers when they had signs and symptoms that were overlooked.

My uncle went to the Mayo Clinic religiously every year and had every test done. He had cancer and no one found it until he fell at a concert and a CT showed a tumor in the back of his neck. He died within 4 months.

I worked around doctors for years. Some are good, some just like to be recognized as doctors and are a-holes. Some are so darn arrogant.

I could never understand how a doctor who I know and who had a daughter with severe anorexia didn't get her help with all his connections. He didn't even get her into a care facility and she was emaciated. She died last year. How does a doctor not see his own child wasting away. I had anorexia and my parents had no clue about what it was.... yet I got help and survived.

I don't trust many doctors and feel they are arrogant and take chances with people's lives. My mother was bleeding from her stomach and her doctor just gave her pills for anemia. She died of stomach cancer.

If you have a good doctor, and I did many years ago, count yourself blessed. Unfortunately, mine died of a heart attack. I rarely go to doctors unless I have to.