Please take your bashing and leave it at the door......

I know not everyone will agree with this post.  I know everyone has had different experiences with health care.  I just can't help but write this when I see ignorant things like this on Facebook:

Just the other day I was making an appointment to go and get a yearly physical.  I decided to Google the physician I was seeing and just like that, I saw a picture of him as well as a star rating and several comments.  This got me thinking, this poor guy is being rated by people who perhaps have spent as little as 10-15 minutes with him.  Can you imagine?  It would be like having a job interview every 15 minutes, 5 days a week.  You better be on your best.  Every minute of every day.
I don't know about you, but I would be lucky to have 2.5 star rating most days, maybe a 0.5 during newborn phase or potty training.
Then it hit me.  In a few years people will be Googling my husband's name.  What will the reviews say?  I know what kind of of guy he is, but what if that doesn't come across in ten minutes?  

Doctors have become the scapegoat to all that is wrong with medicine.  You wait too long=doctors fault.  You pay too much=doctors fault.  Your health doesn't improve or gets worse=doctors fault. You hate your doctor=doctors fault.

If you want to bash someone, here's where you should start.

Fellow Patients:

We have all been there.  Waiting, waiting, waiting.  I have too.  Sometimes with two kids in a small room and its lunch time or half naked with a thin paper towel over me.  It is frustrating and aggravating.  The problem is, you shouldn't wave your finger at the doctor who enters the room and apologizes for the wait (most of the time).  Take that finger and point it at the person who showed up for their 8:00 appointment (the first of the day) at 8:10.  Or how about the person who scheduled a sick visit for a "sore throat" and then proceeded to seek treatment for the anxiety and depression they have been suffering with for five years and also that they haven't pooped in a month.  Or what about the person who demanded that the doctor also see the other three children they brought with them but didn't make appointments for.  Or how about the person who just won't stop talking.  Let's also not forget that sometimes, difficult diagnoses are given.  Sometimes doctors have to take a little extra time to discuss cancer treatment options, reasons why a miscarriage happened, or reasons why a child isn't meeting developmental milestones.  These are conversations that shouldn't be rushed, but so often are.

Doctors know your time is valuable.  They are not sitting in a room eating donuts and laughing about how long they can make someone wait.  They have a full schedule with people still calling in and asking to be "squeezed" into it.  If the office says no, you get mad because they said no, if they say yes, you get mad because you are left waiting because they are overbooked.  

Do you see where I am getting at here?  It is a hard game to win.   An impossible game to win. 

Insurance Companies/Sue Happy Society:

What do these people think we are, made of money?  How could they charge me for this or that?  Doctors get audited by insurance companies and under-coding is just as big of a no-no as over-coding.   If you discuss it, they have to chart it.  If they chart it, they have to code for it.
 And what about the fact that in this day and age, people will SUE FOR ANYTHING and EVERYTHING.  This means that doctors have to pay a hefty amount for malpractice insurance to cover themselves.  I recently read this article http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2014/03/doctors-practice-cover-ass-medicine.html.  It left me feeling like doctors can't win.  You don't do 10 extra non-essential tests in order to save the patient money, but then you get sued because you tried to save them money when something very rare and un-explainable happens.  

Viruses/Chronic Illnesses/Medical Mysteries:

Those stupid doctors.  They expect me to pay a copay when they didn't even do anything.

  You are NOT paying for a prescription.  You are paying for the doctors time and expertise.  Just as you would the plumber or electrician or lawyer.  Medical school is 4 years.  Residencies range between 3-10 years, fellowships 1+ years.  They know somethings.
Let's talk about this copay.  When my husband is out of residency his student loans will be about $2500/mo.  That means if he sees 4 patients an hour, 7 hours a day and they each pay a $20 dollar copay, almost an entire weeks worth of copay's will go directly to pay off the loans he accrued learning how to treat you. Ouch.  That's no small chunk of change.
My sister says to me, "I shouldn't have taken said child in.  It is never anything."  I always remind her, just because it doesn't need a prescription does not mean you or your child isn't sick or that your mother's intuition is wrong.

 There are these things called viruses.  They CAN NOT be treated with antibiotics.   If antibiotics are over used or misused, we grow tolerances to them and they stop being effective.  It isn't the doctors fault that your throat is sore but the strep test is negative.  It is not their fault when your urine is clean or your blood results are normal or when you are crumpled over in a ball of pain and all the tests are coming back negative.  It doesn't mean they are stupid or mean or picking on you or that they don't believe you.  Some illnesses just can't be cured or fixed or explained.  Some of your fellow patients are drug seekers.  Doctors have to learn how to sift through lies and often half told stories.

Your personality:

  I have worked with several doctors, all of which have very different personalities but are excellent physicians.  New patients would always call in and say, "Well who do you recommend?  Who is the best?"  That was a question that was impossible to answer.
Just like you and I and your best friend and you mom's aunt are all different, so are they.  Some are efficient but nice, some are quiet and take their time with you. Some think they are God's gift to the world, some are incredibly smart and want you to know it while others are incredibly smart and don't show off.  You need to find your match. If you are a vegan and eat only "whole foods", perhaps you should seek a family doctor who shares those values.  If you are planning on natural child birth, find an OB who really supports that process.  Be happy with your choice.  If you hate doctors, stop seeing them.  If you think they are quacks and all you have to say are negative things about them, find alternative therapies or use Web MD.  We are sick of you complaining.

Also,  did you ever think that maybe you are the problem?  Maybe you are a hypochondriac or needy or a time monster.  Maybe you are "that patient" who sends the office into sheer panic when they see the name on the chart.  Sometimes I feel like doctors should be able to break up with their patients.  It's not me, it's you.  It is most definitely you.

With all this said, I want to say that yes, there are people who shouldn't be practicing medicine.  Some are too old or too dumb or too crazy.  If you feel like there is honestly a physician who is endangering the lives of patients, tell the world.  No one should suffer or die.  However, if your personality just didn't "click" with the doctor you just saw, please don't go around telling everyone how awful they are/were.  Human beings are not perfect.  Doctors are human beings, therefore, they are not perfect.  Can you imagine having to be a people pleaser all day long?   Just think of the most crazy/annoying person you know.  They have doctors.  Can you imagine being locked in a room with them for 15 minutes and having to listen to their every problem?  On top of that,  imagine having to be worried about getting sued at any comment or missed diagnosis or small lapse in memory while making a living and supporting your family.  

I know, I know, they are getting paid to do it.   I think we can all agree, that sometimes you don't get what you sign up for and some things are indeed not worth the payment.

Today I am grateful for my OB/GYN who helped deliver my two babies.
I am thankful to my Neurologist who has helped me find a medicine that works for my migraines.
I am thankful for my Urologist for helping me try to find out why I keep getting kidney stones.
I am thankful for my mom's Oncologist and Surgeons who removed the breast cancer from her body.
I am thankful for my dad's Primary Care doctor for helping to treat his high cholesterol.
I am thankful everyday for my Ophthalmologist for fitting me for contacts and glasses so I can see the world around me.
I am thankful for our Pediatrician for keeping track of our daughters development and treating their illnesses.

 Doctor bashing is super cool right now, but just like parents always say, just because your friends are doing it doesn't mean you should too.