Medical Professionals Explain What It's Like When They Go To The Doctor

Leave Town, Probably

I'm a junior doctor in a small town. It's a little awkward as I know most of the doctors, and the ones I don't are often married to ones that I do know.

I'm currently working in the same practice as my GP. If I needed anything particularly personal I would probably go to the next closest town, although I have friends from med school who work there too.

TinyKhaleesi

Boom. Done.

I bring a print out of my medical history and hand it to them to save time, they always say, "wow, thanks. Okay, what do you want?"

"I need a Rx for this amount of insulin for my diabetes. Do I need a referral to anything?"

"Podiatry"

"No"

"Patient refuses podiatry referral, extensively counseled."

Then we shoot the sh-t.

Dr_D-R-E

Imposter Syndrome

I'm an optometrist. I avoid mentioning I'm a doctor when I'm at the doctor because I'm pretty low on the totem pole of prestige. Optometry school, while challenging, isn't at the same level as medical school. I enjoy having the title, it just feels like a reach to portray myself as having gone through the same grueling life to get here. However when it does come up, it's never been a pissing contest or "who do you think you are?" conversation, it's been very pleasant. Idk, some sort of imposter syndrome I guess.

Copper2006

A Break In The Day

For real, I just walk to the other side of the hall and shoot the sh-t with my friend. It's a legitimately enjoyable break in my day.

acjgoblu

Short And Sweet

The visits are usually pretty short and self-directed. If I'm worried enough about something to ask for a test or lab, they'll usually order it out of courtesy. When I'm there with a family member or one of my kids, it is often just to bounce ideas off another doc to make sure I'm not over or underreacting.

AllBleedingStops

Loss Of Control

I hate going to the doctors but that's probably my own issues with regards to control that is the issue. But whenever I go to the doctors, I really prefer that they NOT know I am a physician. I get a clearer explanation and I find that there are assumptions made if they find out. I work in the the operating room and there is a "joke" that the most complications happen to doctor's wives and "VIP"s because you do things outside your normal safe practice to try and accommodate. All I want from a doctor is to be treated like everyone else because I know that means I'll get their best.

stromo

Be As Clear And Specific As Possible

As an EMT who had to be treated by EMT's in a different state, I kept thinking, "Oh God this all seems so wrong. They're not following the standard operating procedures of my department. I can't tell if they're doing things the right way." But i tried to bite my tongue and let them do their jobs unless they tried to do something that I knew was going to harm me. There were a few times where I thought "they should have examined/asked about this," so I made sure to bring up thay information.

I've also been on the other side, treating medical professionals as an EMT. Things generally go a lot more smoothly because they know all the relevant information, they know when to say it, they know how to say it (specific medical terminology), and they tend to keep calm.

A regular person might say, "I fell and it hurts."

But a medical professional night say, "I inverted my right ankle, felt a pop, and noticed immediate swelling and contusions. I have bone tenderness at the proximal base of the fifth metatarsal."

Saves a ton of time.

Lovebot_AI

Take No Medical Excuses

It depends. It has it's good and bad points.

My orginal family medicine guy took a hands off approach to management, physical exam and labs. It seems like he simply trusted me to do the right thing, but I kinda felt like we were going through the bare bones motions to get my employee health points.

The relationship fell apart when I injured my hand and went to see him. He was like it's just a sprain, ice it down, no xray. I didnt believe him, argued it, and felt a bit dismissed in the end, so I pulled strings and got an xray. The hand was broken, badly. I fired him as my personal physician for that one, because, who knows how long he would have kept letting me work with my injury.

New doctor is tough on me and actually makes me answer to him regarding my lab results (cholesterol, sugars, ect.). Definitely a no bullsh-t, no excuses approach, which physician-patients are good at giving.

I think I would rather have a physician that isnt afraid to treat another physician, than a wimpy doc that let's you get away with things, is hands off and is too trusting.

Dr-Mumm-Rah

Duh. Treat Them Like The Professionals They Are.

I go in with my one to two complaints, succinctly give them the details that are relevant, answer their questions as able and take their advice on testing and follow through with the testing and treatment they advise. If I feel it is off the mark or I wish to have other testing done I ask about it and see if it is appropriate.

While only I know my normal best my doctor is an expert I seek out for guidance and help and I value their advice and ideas. No doctor should treat themselves by themselves.

Shazamshazam2

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