A visit to a doctor can be a dehumanizing experience, which is why I usually try to avoid them. But lately, I had an issue with vertigo, and called for an appointment with a specialist affiliated with a teaching hospital.
Upon making my first appointment, I was coldly informed I would have to wait three months before I could be worked into his busy schedule. That should have told me something, but I thought it best to wait, rather than going to one of those walk in clinics where a twenty something, just out of med school, would misdiagnose my problem.
The doctor introduced himself, and asked about my symptoms. I began to describe them in detail, but after about 15 seconds he seemed to lose interest. When I stopped talking, he ordered some tests. After they were done, I waited about half an hour before my doctor returned, accompanied by a young intern. That was when I began feeling like a guinea pig, as he calmly informed me I should probably have an MRI of my head just to rule out something very ominous. Being somewhat claustrophobic & loud noise averse, I didn’t like that idea, so he prescribed some OTC meds and said to come back next month..
The medication was helpful, but I was still having some symptoms . On the second visit, I waited a full hour in a freezing cold room until he showed up. This time, he had another intern who stood mutely at attention as the doctor tried to find me on the computer and determine just exactly why I was there. I wondered if my case would be interesting enough for a case study—probably not. But I definitely felt less like a human being than a “patient,” He asked how I’d been getting along, but when I tried to ask him some questions and carry on a conversation about my symptoms, he lost interest. The poker faced intern stared at me as if I were a specimen under a microscope. There was no mention of an MRI, so perhaps the doctor decided not to waste any more time with a person who balked at having an expensive, unpleasant test. Okay, I get it. He doesn’t do simple. At any rate, he told me to continue with the meds, and suggested I come back in six months.
Finally, I got on the internet and found some simple ways to alleviate my problem. The internet cares about you! Key in a word or a question, and you’ll get a whole list of links that tell you everything you want to know and answers all your questions.
In defense of physicians, and especially surgeons: psychologists say that doctors gradually become less empathetic as a defense mechanism against the painful procedures they must perform. And, too much empathy could make a doctor less objective when making a diagnosis. Last but not least, if they got too emotionally involved with each and every patient, they’d be worn out. And so, at the end of the day, patients are seen not as persons, but as part of an overall system.
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