Thursday, August 23, 2012

Dr. Visit Gone Bad


I have a wonderful, compassionate, sensitive, concerned gp that I go to.  I never fear going to visit her, because, she always gives me and all her patients, 100% of her attention. She chose the right profession. She did it because she loves people and wants them to get the most of life and make sure they are healthy or on their way to being healthy. 
  She listens...intently to what you are saying and sometimes what you are not saying. She cares about you as a person and has even called me to make sure that I was okay if it had been a while.
Sadly, it seems as if people like her in the medical profession are sometimes hard to find.
Today, however, is not about her (Hey Marge! Nothing but love for you hun) I am going to go on a little bit of a rant.

Unfortunately, I have come across many unprofessional, unfriendly, uncaring, insensitive people in the medical field. I have fired nurses and doctors when I was caring for my folks. One nurse had the audacity to tell me that my mother's pain was in her head! My word for her...F-I-R-E-D! Oh yes, in no uncertain terms did I let her know that she was not to step foot in my mother's room again. That was the same day that I came into her room and saw her draped over the side rail of her bed! Sweet Lord, I can not begin to even describe my anger. My sweet sweet beautiful mom, had been ringing the bell to go to the bathroom, and no one came. Ohhhhh I was so angry that I fell it still as I write this. My mother, my dear sweet mom that I miss so much was being ignored! I started staying overnight with her in her room so that I could make certain she would get the help she needed. My brother would bring my dad in the morning and I would go home to bed. And so it went.
I think what happens sometimes, is that they lose their compassion and forgot why they went into that profession in the first place. Sometimes, they just need to be reminded and other times,they need to find a job that they would like more. Be that as it may, in my personal opinion, never never never should a Doctor, or nurse or anyone else for that matter ever belittle you and make you feel ashamed.
 I don't care what size you are, what color, religion, education or lack of, what type of work you do, where you have  piercings, or how many, if any, tatoos you have,  you will be treated with compassion by me and certainly should by every one else. Especially, if these people deal with the public.


Going to have a physical is pretty embarrassing. It can make you feel nervous and embarrassed and downright frightened. In my belief however, never ever EVER, should you be made to feel belittled and humiliated. 
When you leave the office, you should feel hopeful and encouraged. When asked about concerns you may have, they should never be scoffed at or make you feel ashamed. We all struggle with something. 
My poor daughter was made to feel all of those negative feelings at her first visit to the company allowed dr.  She was made to feel humiliated from the get go. First they saw her tatoos and sentenced her by thinking she must be a delinquent. She is not and never has been. Her tatoos are memorials to her dad and grandparents who we lost in a six month period. All this and more happened while she was also trying to graduate from college, which she did!

My daughter is strong,  she very hardly ever crys, unlike me. But, after leaving this office, she drove to a nearby parking lot and broke down.  From the moment she followed the assist  into the room, she was made to feel embarrassed.
They half listened to what her concerns were and decided to send her to a specialist. I am glad that they did  recommend a specialist because maybe they will treat her as she should be treated.  
The hardest thing when  your children grow-up is when someone hurts them and you want to totally go superhero and b*tch slap those jerks.  
So, for now, I will sit back and listen and try to comfort my daughter, but, in my head, I am rocking my best elastic girl moves!!

2 comments:

  1. I feel like I could have written this myself. My GP sounds exactly like yours, but that's where my happiness with the medical profession ends. I have found that most of the time, they just don't care. They're only priority is checking you off their To Do list so they can squeeze 12 more patients into their hour time slot. There is no way they're going to convince me that I'm receiving quality care when they can't even be bothered to listen to what I'm saying or look at me when they're talking to me. It's really sad. They're in a profession where they really should be extra compassionate and attentive, yet so many of them are just the opposite.
    Give your daughter a hug for me :)

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    1. It is really sad, and I really think that these people need to check themselves and maybe change professions. We put our faith into them and trust our health to them, the least they can do is listen intently to our concerns and try to make a connection with us. I can't believe how self conscious they made my daughter feel. They even stressed to her that she needs to use condoms and after asking her if she used recreational drugs, and she told them no, she just nodded and said mmm with a nod...oh yes, that is right, girls having tattoos = drugged up girls with no morals!
      I am so sorry that you too have experienced that side of the medical field!

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