I don't trust doctors.

[JadussD]

Yes, I know there are many trustworthy doctors out there. I also know for a fact that there are some who are not. Like that time when I was 7, I broke both bones in my arm in half, and the doctor who was working on me in the emergency room decided he had a Jewish holiday to celebrate, and LEFT. I had to be taken to ANOTHER hospital! Overall, I don't trust doctors. That whole "doctor" vibe you get when you talk to him as a patient is supposed to be "professional" but I can't help but think that most doctors don't exactly care about any of their patients. $40 for a ten minute check-up? Well, I don't blame medical care for being expensive, considering the massive amount of time and sacrifice it takes to become a doctor, but I think that the whole "guaranteed to be rich" factor is the primary motivation for so many people to become doctors. One irritating thing was the second time I got a kidney stone. I had to go through a cat-scan, an MRI, and an IVP. Somehow, it seems that just one or two would be necessary. But they "just had to make sure", and since I haven't been through medical school, I can't exactly call them on it. That's why I don't trust doctors, I don't know why they're doing something, and if it's going to cost me my time, and my parents money, I want to be sure that what's being done is necessary. Pretty soon I'll have to get my own medical insurance, then if I have to pay anything that it doesn't cover, it'll be out of my pocket, so I just want to know _exactly_ what's going on, and that's hard when you haven't gone through medical school. So yeah, I have sort of a distrust of doctors, maybe it's not reasonable, maybe it is. I don't know.

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[Isildur]

> Yes, I know there are many trustworthy doctors out there. I
> also know for a fact that there are some who are not. Like
> that time when I was 7, I broke both bones in my arm in
> half, and the doctor who was working on me in the emergency
> room decided he had a Jewish holiday to celebrate, and LEFT.
> I had to be taken to ANOTHER hospital!

I'm sorry to hear that; That was a mean thing to do. He violated Jewish rules by doing that. <img src=smilies/headshake.gif>

> since I haven't been through
> medical school, I can't exactly call them on it. That's why
> I don't trust doctors, I don't know why they're doing
> something, and if it's going to cost me my time, and my
> parents money, I want to be sure that what's being done is
> necessary.

That's true for any service where you rely on someone else's expertise. It's not a doctor's fault that you aren't as knowledgable as him in his area of expertise. (Nor is it anyone's fault. No one can be skilled and knowledgable in every way, so we need experts. That's life.)

>Well, I don't blame medical care for being
> expensive, considering the massive amount of time and
> sacrifice it takes to become a doctor, but I think that the
> whole "guaranteed to be rich" factor is the primary
> motivation for so many people to become doctors.

Well, all I can say for sure is that that's not true of the two doctors I know best, my brother and his wife.

> Pretty soon I'll have to get my own medical
> insurance, then if I have to pay anything that it doesn't
> cover, it'll be out of my pocket, so I just want to know
> _exactly_ what's going on, and that's hard when you haven't
> gone through medical school. So yeah, I have sort of a
> distrust of doctors, maybe it's not reasonable, maybe it is.
> I don't know.
>

Well, it's not unusual to be concerned about being treated fairly by someone who has an advantage over you in a field of expertise. I mean, what non-car-repair-skilled car owner doesn't wonder, at some point or another, whether the car really needs some work done on it that the guy at the repair shop claims it needs? But don't be so quick to take such a negative view of all doctors because of that worry.

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[mFC]

meh, i think most doctors are trustworthy... but there's always one or two out there who ruin it for everyone else.

Chris

<P ID="signature">the air is full of harmonies, but is anyone even singing right?
Q and not U - "Black Plastic Bag"
/personal/mfc.gif</P>

[acromion]

I'll come right out here and admit that I'm a medical student. I don't disagree with you on all points however. From my experience, there are some doctors (even some I've sat in with in practice) who might give others a bad name. But that's usually a case of trying to see a lot of patients asap, while still treating them well, rather than the situation you described with the doctor who just left. That's just wrong. Doctors who do things like that should be disbarred - there's certainly nothing in the Hippocratic Oath about being able to stop treating patients when it suits you. It's just immoral.

> I think that the
> whole "guaranteed to be rich" factor is the primary
> motivation for so many people to become doctors.

Again, this might be true for some, but not for a majority. Not down here in Australia anyway. We don't all come from rich families (you don't 'buy' your degree - government pays), and I'd have to say the vast majority wanted to do med because it allows you to do something really worthwhile for a living, rather than a meaningless office job, while also delivering job diversity and financial security. I say 'financial security' because being a doctor is not a guarantee of being rich - your standard general practitioner here earns just over average wage after the huge costs have been taken out. And there's a medical indemnity crisis driven by the "oh, I'm only 99% happy with my doctor, so I'll sue" mentality so prevalent today means that many of our surgeons will be paying more insurance premiums in retirement than they can possibly afford. So no I don't think doctors are necessarily driven by the money factor.


> One
> irritating thing was the second time I got a kidney stone. I
> had to go through a cat-scan, an MRI, and an IVP. Somehow,
> it seems that just one or two would be necessary.

They have to make sure because if they make the slightest miscalculation, and something goes wrong, they're very liable for big payouts if they didn't run all the tests. So you get the best possible healthcare - problem is, in the US you have to pay for it. So if you have a bad year healthwise, you can be up the proverbial creek without a paddle. The US health system is screwed up that way.

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[SpaceTiger]

Just be glad you didn't have http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/shipman/dead_1.htmlthis</a> guy.

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[icenine0]

Yikes! Very interesting and thorough link, there. <img src=smilies/thumb.gif>

> Just be glad you didn't have this guy.
>

<P ID="signature">The more often you fail, the sweeter the taste of success!</P>