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| Yes | 16% | 114 votes | Total: 721 votes | |
| No | 84% | 607 votes |
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Add to FavoritesCan anyone be fully trusted? Doctors are humans like the rest of us. Some are better than others and I find it hard to judge them as a whole. I have a complex misunderstood illness. It is essential that I have a doctor who is willing to work with me. Over time they earn my trust just like other professionals do.
I've worked in hospitals and I've been a patient, and found more doctors that I would trust than those I wouldn't. We expect more from a doctor because we are putting our lives in their hands. The younger doctors today have less of a God-complex than those who are retiring. The relationship between a doctor and a patient should be one of mutual trust. While you are putting your life in their hands, they are putting their reputation on the line. They genuinely want to help you.
This is especially true of your primary care physician. This is the doctor you will see about everything from colds to knee pain to skin problems. There has to be a high level of trust between the you and your doctor. But, the onus is on you to be truthful with your doctor. Especially when it comes to the medications you are taking. Doctors aren't mind readers. If you are seeing a doctor about stomach problems, you can't leave out medication you are taking for another condition.
When you go to a specialist, it is the patients responsibility to find out about their doctor. As a rule, doctors who practice medicine in a facility that is allied with a medical school are the best of the best. The AMA keeps a tight rein on medical schools. They determine who can have a medical school and have a good oversight program in place.
You can also do your own research and check out your doctor on line. Where did he/she go to medical school? How long as he/she been practicing? Has she/he ever been sanctioned or disciplined in any way? If you're having surgery, you want to find out how many times the doctor has done this procedure.
Ask questions when you talk to the doctor. If they won't answer your questions, be suspicious. Ask why they won't answer your questions. If they still won't answer find out who you can talk to about a physician. There is a Patient Bill of Rights and you have the right to know about your doctor.
But, for me, the bottom line is can we work as a team. I don't want to be patted on the head and told what's good for me. I want a doctor who has enough confidence in himself that he/she won't mind my questions. I've had a lot of doctors the last ten years and I've only run into one that I knew was not going to be a good fit for me.
Doctors are like anyone else. There are good ones, there are great ones, and there are some who are just so-so. You, as the patient, have to decide if you can trust a particular doctor. If you can't, ask for another one. It's your right as a patient to do so.
Speak up if you think you aren't getting the whole picture or if you just don't like a doctor. I had major surgery recently and I checked the surgeon out online. When I met him, I had the whole picture. I knew he was very qualified and I liked him. He laid out all my options but made it very clear that the final decision was mine.
I felt confident that I made the right choice for me and he supported me 100%. I put my life in his hands and went into the OR at peace that the outcome would be good. And it was.
Learn more about this author, Vicki Brown.
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No
Doctors are human just like everyone else so they cannot be fully trusted. Anyone who believes differently is just fooling themselves. Even a doctor you have known for years can make mistakes or make a judgement call about your health for their own agenda. Putting your complete trust in a professional that has no emotional attachment to you can be foolish.
My first example would be my family doctor I knew and trusted with my health for over a decade. I went to him with an earache which was causing some discomfort and dizziness. After many years of seeing him, he decided to prescribe a medicine to me that I had told him I was allergic to. He didn't believe I was allergic and told me I was wrong so I should try this medicine again. He felt the medicine had only reacted with an illness I had while I was in college and there was no reason to avoid this medicine even though it had hospitalized me before.
I was very young still against my better judgement I put my trust in my doctor assuming that he was right and I was wrong. I began taking the medicine and two days later broke out in a rash and had chest pains. I went back to see him and he agreed I was allergic and put me on a different medication to combat the ear ache and also told me to take benedryl to fight the reaction.
I began taking the other medicine and threw out the stuff I was allergic to. The next day my legs turned purple and I was having difficulty breathing so I called him and he just blew it off and told me take more benedryl. As the day progressed I got worse and ended up calling him in the middle of the night because I felt like I was going to die. Again he just told me to take more benedryl.
The following night I woke up feeling like I couldn't breathe and thought I was going to vomit so I went to the bathroom. On my way back from the bathroom I lost my vision and my hearing for a few moments. When my hearing came back it sounded like I was in a tunnel. I screamed to my daughter to call an ambulance. I ended up hospitalized over an earache because my doctor didn't believe me when I told him I was allergic to something. He never admitted any responsibility in the matter and I quit seeing him. He actually sent me a bill for his services. I protested the bill since he caused me to lose work and end up hospitalized. He agreed to adjust off the bill but stated he felt that he had done the right thing in my treatment.
Any of you that have read my other articles on helium have probably read about my Mother's and Father's problems with doctors. My Mother was constantly in and out of the hospital in the last ten years of her life and had countless problems with incompetent doctors. One doctor even sent her home from the hospital when they had done nothing to help her and she was in no condition to go home. My Father ended up driving her to a different hospital to be cared for. She had to stay there for several days until she was in any shape to go home. If my Father had not taken her to the other hospital she would have died.
I have seen doctors prescribe my parents two different blood pressure pills because they didn't read their chart. My Father ended up in the hospital for that very reason. More recently he ended up in the hospital due to another prescription that reacted with medicines he was already taking.
I had a doctor prescribe a medicine to my daughter when she was an infant that would have put her into a coma if the pharmacist had not caught the doctor's error. He prescribed an adult medication for an infant.
A few years ago my gynecologist wanted to perform a hysterectomy on me. I felt his suggestion was extreme considering I was not in any pain and I felt the medicine he had prescribed me was causing my problems. When I put him to the test questioning why and asking him every question I could think of he admitted that doctors are much like used car salesmen. I opted to quit the medicines he had put me on that I thought was causing my problems. My problems cleared up and I was able to avoid a costly unnecessary surgery.
Shortly after that I read an article that stated many women in the United States undergo hysterectomies that did not need to be done. It reinforced my faith in my decision and what had happened to me.
I would advise you to always get a second opinion when it comes to your health or the health of a loved one. Find a pharmacist who cares about his or her customers. Finally, always research your medical problem and prescriptions online because the internet has a vast amount of information to help you. Remember that this person is charging you a fee and doing their job. Hopefully they are doing their job well. It's a business transaction for them and you need to keep that in mind. It's your body and your life and some things cannot be reversed so always proceed with caution.
Learn more about this author, Lucinda Davis.
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