How do you see your doctor?

 

What is a doctor to you? Someone who has answers, someone who cares for you, someone who dispenses medicines? The modern concept of the role of the physician has often been likened to doctor as "god-like", because of the perceived knowledge gap between the physician and the patient. Usually, however, this image does not particularly serve either patient or doctor, because treating each other in this fashion produces an unequal relationship. Doctors, no matter how well trained and motivated, cannot have all of the answers all of the time. Yet patients, and even doctors who become patients, expect that their physicians will have the answers they require and usually also place other demands on their doctors that cannot be fulfilled.

 

Why do we see our doctors this way?

 

There are I feel, several reasons for this. Firstly, our concept of who and what a physician is is based on how they are portrayed in society. Doctors undergo medical training, which is often considered to be on the leading edge of science, science itself being a highly respected arena. Doctors are well paid, and as a result they are viewed as worthy individuals in a society that equates material wealth with personal success. Physicians are often called upon or choose to focus on life and death issues, birth and death argueably the two greatest mysteries we are concerned with. Doctors as a result have an unusual priviledge in that they are allowed into the intimate details of a patient's life without the groundwork of a personal relationship. All of these things together produce high expectations of the end-result of consulting a physician.

 

However, a physician is a fallable person, like all people. And physicians are often consulted several dozen times per day about the health of individuals. It is a difficult job; mistakes are made, attention spans limited, and every doctor has a life of his own to deal with.

 

Cultivating a good relationship

 

The relationship between you and your doctor can be of immense benefit to you if your expectations are realistic and if you are well prepared for your consultation. You must be the director of your health, as a patient. It is your body and soul that are the issue, and you must be prepared to make decisions based on the information available to you and be able to commit to following through once you have decided what is best for your health. The doctor is your partner in this endeavor. A patient is, and should feel himself or herself to be, the final expert decision maker.

 

How then, can you ensure that you make the most of your visits to the doctor?

 

1)  Choose your doctor carefully. Speak to them on the phone, ask for a brief consultation. Explain to the physician what your needs and expectations are. If you feel comfortable with the answers to your questions, it is a likely indicator that this physician will suit your needs. Do not be afraid to ask hard questions. If you are not satisfied with an answer, say so, and if you are still not satisfied, get another opinion. Remember that some physicians have a hard time telling you that they do not know the answer, and some patients don't want to hear it.

 

2)  Always come with a questions list of things you want or need to know. Also, bring the information that the doctor may request such as past medical records or lab tests, a list of supplements or drugs that you are taking, the brand name and the dosage (or bring the bottles). In order for your doctor to give you good advice, you must provide him or her with the correct information. A lot of time is wasted in patient visits because the physician does not know what has already been done, and instead allocates resources to repeating it.

 

3)  Always be honest with your physician. Let him or her know how you feel about what is happening to you or what you are going through. Don't assume that they know, and don't expect them to understand it all -- they have likely not been through what you are experiencing. This is a source of frustration to both physician and patient and honesty about it feels much better than resenting your doctor for not knowing.

 

4)  Be aware of your own perceptions about your situation. If you believe at heart that your illness will never pass, it likely never will, regardless of what your physician does or says. You really do have a great deal of power in healing yourself; this is the healing power of nature, which is yours for the taking.

     Building a relationship with your doctor based on honesty and trust will be rewarding and a good foundation for getting the advice you need on you own terms.

Last updated 5 Mar 99