when to see the dr.

pineapple

tinktinktinkerbell wrote: »

wow what a shocking GP for saying that :eek:

does he not realise he wouldnt have a job if it werent for sick people going to see him and the point of is job IS people going to see him when they are sick!

Who said the doctor was a 'he'?
I note that several early posters jumped to this, as it turns out, false assumption.
Anyway my experience is that female doctors can be a bit more brusque than male doctors. We had one such legendary doctor at my practice. When I winced after getting a jab (following rabid dog bite in Africa where I had been working for a charity) she said without a trace of a smile 'It's your own fault for going to exotic locations'. That same GP also rubbished a neighbour who had gone with severe stomach pains - he asked to see another GP who immediately sent him to hospital. Plus she had accused him of trying to get time off sick. He was a taxi driver and it was his own business!
Also (I'll probably get criticised for this) but my personal experience is that female doctors from certain cultures can be particularly brusque.

shandyclover

Did I ever say I was reporting her for malpractice? Did I even hint I considered her behaviour cause for such. I will chose to see another dr. in future though, I don't waste a drs time and I expect to be treated with courtesy and respect. The comment on her ethnicity was just a effort to understand why she would behave in such a manner. I have worked in war torn zones myself, so I can imagine it would harden you. I also have a DD with a long term health condition and 23 operations under her belt so I have seen alot of drs. and alot of hospitals. Every single one of them is different but I believe a good one does not lose the human touch. I did not come here to pick a fight, just comment on how hard it can be to get it right - the desire to not waste a drs time vs when to take a condition seriously.

Nicki

shandyclover wrote: »

Did I ever say I was reporting her for malpractice? Did I even hint I considered her behaviour cause for such. I will chose to see another dr. in future though, I don't waste a drs time and I expect to be treated with courtesy and respect. The comment on her ethnicity was just a effort to understand why she would behave in such a manner. I have worked in war torn zones myself, so I can imagine it would harden you. I also have a DD with a long term health condition and 23 operations under her belt so I have seen alot of drs. and alot of hospitals. Every single one of them is different but I believe a good one does not lose the human touch. I did not come here to pick a fight, just comment on how hard it can be to get it right - the desire to not waste a drs time vs when to take a condition seriously.

Sorry. I didn't intend to suggest that you were picking a fight, and nor was I intending to. Just trying to give a different perspective though after a couple of posters DID suggest that you report the doctor, and that their behaviour was bordering on the negligent, which I thought, and still think to be a massive overreaction.

I have a severely disabled child too, and a baby with health issues when younger, and I'm afraid my experience is that doctors are no different personality wise than any other member of the public. We are at the hospital dozens of times a year, often for overnight stays. Some doctors are lovely and very sympathetic, and some are frankly quite bolshie and offhand, whether or not you are seeing them on the NHS or paying through the nose privately. I try not to worry about their interpersonal skills to be honest, and just focus on whether they give good advice and the correct treatment when it should be given. Otherwise you make what is already a stressful situation, ten times worse.

pmduk

Nicki wrote: »

I try not to worry about their interpersonal skills to be honest, and just focus on whether they give good advice and the correct treatment when it should be given.

Like it or not a Doctor's interpersonal skills are incredibly important. Not all patients will be articulate or able to express themselves well. As the professional in the situation it's the Doctor's job to put the patient at ease and obtain the necessary information. If they're unable or unwilling to do this they should reconsider their career in general practice.

poet123

Nicki wrote: »

Sorry. I didn't intend to suggest that you were picking a fight, and nor was I intending to. Just trying to give a different perspective though after a couple of posters DID suggest that you report the doctor, and that their behaviour was bordering on the negligent, which I thought, and still think to be a massive overreaction.

I have a severely disabled child too, and a baby with health issues when younger, and I'm afraid my experience is that doctors are no different personality wise than any other member of the public. We are at the hospital dozens of times a year, often for overnight stays. Some doctors are lovely and very sympathetic, and some are frankly quite bolshie and offhand, whether or not you are seeing them on the NHS or paying through the nose privately. I try not to worry about their interpersonal skills to be honest, and just focus on whether they give good advice and the correct treatment when it should be given. Otherwise you make what is already a stressful situation, ten times worse.

I would agree with most of this but when treating those in vulnerable situations (such as you describe) is it really too much to ask that they should have good/reasonable inter personal skills?

I think in years gone by professionals (of whatever skillset, Doctor, Lawyer, Teacher etc) were accorded a measure of respect for those skills and often their shortcomings in other areas such as empathy and politeness to name but two were accepted or overlooked.Today people are much more service orientated regardless of which professional they are consulting and they expect a certain standard of treatment over and above the "service" they receive.

shandyclover

Nicki wrote: »

Sorry. I didn't intend to suggest that you were picking a fight, and nor was I intending to. Just trying to give a different perspective though after a couple of posters DID suggest that you report the doctor, and that their behaviour was bordering on the negligent, which I thought, and still think to be a massive overreaction.

I have a severely disabled child too, and a baby with health issues when younger, and I'm afraid my experience is that doctors are no different personality wise than any other member of the public. We are at the hospital dozens of times a year, often for overnight stays. Some doctors are lovely and very sympathetic, and some are frankly quite bolshie and offhand, whether or not you are seeing them on the NHS or paying through the nose privately. I try not to worry about their interpersonal skills to be honest, and just focus on whether they give good advice and the correct treatment when it should be given. Otherwise you make what is already a stressful situation, ten times worse.

No worries, like I said I think I have just been a bit spoilt by our previous GP living in rural Ireland, which is a bit like UK 20 years ago.

Like you said dr come in all personalities. DD17 condition is very, very rare (1:100,000), and 70% die enutero, for this reason I tend to know more about the specifics of her condition than the average dr. There have been some who openly admit this and ask me details to further their knowledge, and some who treat you like you couldn't possibly know what you are talking about. The openly chatty ones put DD17 at ease and explain to her her future options as an adult, then theres some who do treat her a bit like a exciting and rare case to add to their portfolio! When you enter the big arena medicine wise, you can't be too fragile, but I've learnt to also politely, but assertively ask for more information, say when I don't understand something, ask why a something is being done etc.etc. I'm quite good at doing this for my DD, but not very good at doing it for myself.

tinktinktinkerbell

pineapple wrote: »

Who said the doctor was a 'he'?
I note that several early posters jumped to this, as it turns out, false assumption.
Anyway my experience is that female doctors can be a bit more brusque than male doctors. We had one such legendary doctor at my practice. When I winced after getting a jab (following rabid dog bite in Africa where I had been working for a charity) she said without a trace of a smile 'It's your own fault for going to exotic locations'. That same GP also rubbished a neighbour who had gone with severe stomach pains - he asked to see another GP who immediately sent him to hospital. Plus she had accused him of trying to get time off sick. He was a taxi driver and it was his own business!
Also (I'll probably get criticised for this) but my personal experience is that female doctors from certain cultures can be particularly brusque.

i'll be honest, i was going to tell you to stop being so pedantic till i read this part in my experience female doctors seem not to give a toss which is why i prefer seeing male GPs and will only see a female if there are no males available

ive seen it happen with me, my OH, my cousin and other family members so i do really see your point

what happened to you and your neighbour was disgusting!

Edwardia

I would complain to the practice mgr. Tell her/him that you did look online for advice and NHS Direct advocated seeing your GP so you were a tad taken aback to more or less be told off by GP since you aren't a clinician and can't be expected to self-diagnose.

twinklie

Just to defend female GP's. Mine is female and WONDERFUL. But I agree, the level of interpersonal skills varies between them all drastically.