Do you judge your doctor if they're a smoker?

[Anonymous]

My doctor smokes. I don't care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would totally judge my doctor for being a smoker or obese. If you can't take care of yourself, then how can you take care of me?

But the doctor doesn't actually take care of you. S/he gives you the tools to take care of yourself (advice, knowledge, medicine, etc.). You still have to use those tools and it's not always easy. By the same token, s/he can give him/herself the tools but still struggle with using them. Put it this way-- are you suggesting that a doctor who smokes actually lacks the medical knowledge to understand that smoking is unhealthy? Because I seriously doubt that. My 8-year-old knows that. I think it shows more that the doctor is human, and understands how difficult it can be sometimes to do the things we know we should. It just might make the doctor more compassionate-- a quality that MANY doctors I have seen lack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I judge everyone who smokes.

Ha! I was about to post the exact same thing.

Me three!

[Anonymous]

I find this so interesting. My DH is a doc and all of his friends from med school -- who have now completed a number of prestigious residencies -- act like semi-recovered frat boys. These aren't the primary care provider kind of docs that you will see in an office. You would generally only meet them if you were hospitalized. They conspicuously show more disregard for their health than what is preached on the Today Show. You never see them eating organic. They think that's idiotic. They smoke when they drink but generally not in a chain kind of way. I asked my husband about it once and he said the people you see with health conditions related to smoking have smoked multiple packs per day for years. I guess they just see a lot of people who really abuse themselves and don't see small abuses as an issue.

[Anonymous]

I'm about as serious an anti-smoker as you can be-- I support almost any and all public health policies and regulations to decrease exposure to cigarette smoke-- but I wouldn't necessary ditch a good doctor because she or he smoked. It could make them especially good doctors for many patients.

They are humans, after all, and subject to all the physical, psychological and behavioral stimuli that the rest of us experience. They, more than anyone else, understand the dangers of smoking. They know the detailed facts, to the microscopic level, of what smoking does to the human body. The effects of smoking we know through public service announcements, they know through witnessing first hand. They see patients that they know and care for struggle to quit, get sick, and suffer brutally. They see families worry and grieve.

I think they might have a real insight into how hard it is for their patients to make healthy lifestyle changes that others don't have. Frankly, a doctor with a lot of physical self-discipline and a "just do it" attitude might have little compassion or insight when treating a patient addicted to nicotine or other unhealthy habits.

OP, if you found a great, competent doctor that you felt took good care of you during a sick visit and gave you no other reason to worry or criticize, then stick with her. We should all be so lucky.

[Anonymous]

When my father was at risk for a heart attack and his doctor gave him advice about diet and exercise, he knew the doctor smoke and followed none of the advice himself and proceeded to ignore it. Sure that was on my father, but the doctor should ideally create an environment in which taking care of yourself is the norm.

After his first heart attack my father switched doctors. I'm not sure the medical advice was any different but my father followed it with the new doctor.

[Anonymous]

A lot of doctors don't follow their own advice and can often be very fatalistic themselves. It's hard to blame them, given some of the horrific helplessness they must see day in and day out.

I read this article about "How Doctors Die" a few years ago - it makes perfect sense.

That said, I don't think I would continue see a doctor that was a regular smoker, seriously obese, or disregarded their health in such an excessive way.

http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2011/11/30/how-doctors-die/ideas/nexus/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of doctors don't follow their own advice and can often be very fatalistic themselves. It's hard to blame them, given some of the horrific helplessness they must see day in and day out.

I read this article about "How Doctors Die" a few years ago - it makes perfect sense.

That said, I don't think I would continue see a doctor that was a regular smoker, seriously obese, or disregarded their health in such an excessive way.

http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2011/11/30/how-doctors-die/ideas/nexus/

Honestly, with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, I wouldn't bother with treatment either. It's pretty insidious and you die pretty quickly regardless. Better to make the most of it.

[Anonymous]

No you do not have to "get over this" OP.

A smoking Dr. is just a hypocrite to me. She is supposed to be an advocate for good health and she should be practicing what she preaches.

It's like having a diet counselor at Jenny Craig who weighs 300+ lbs. Or an esthitician who has severe acne.

If I go to get my hair done and the hair dresser has horrible looking hair, I would not even let her touch mine.

Perhaps I am being too judgmental here. But I cannot change how I feel.

[Anonymous]

I have never smoked but if given a choice between a doctor who smokes and one who doesn't I will choose the smoker. The smoker is willing to knowingly ruin his health for his career and is probably a more driven and dedicated professional. In the same way, although I have kids, if given a choice I would choose a doctor without kids, especially if the doctors are women.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm about as serious an anti-smoker as you can be-- I support almost any and all public health policies and regulations to decrease exposure to cigarette smoke-- but I wouldn't necessary ditch a good doctor because she or he smoked. It could make them especially good doctors for many patients.

They are humans, after all, and subject to all the physical, psychological and behavioral stimuli that the rest of us experience. They, more than anyone else, understand the dangers of smoking. They know the detailed facts, to the microscopic level, of what smoking does to the human body. The effects of smoking we know through public service announcements, they know through witnessing first hand. They see patients that they know and care for struggle to quit, get sick, and suffer brutally. They see families worry and grieve.

I think they might have a real insight into how hard it is for their patients to make healthy lifestyle changes that others don't have. Frankly, a doctor with a lot of physical self-discipline and a "just do it" attitude might have little compassion or insight when treating a patient addicted to nicotine or other unhealthy habits.

OP, if you found a great, competent doctor that you felt took good care of you during a sick visit and gave you no other reason to worry or criticize, then stick with her. We should all be so lucky.

I saw this on a daytime talk show- a trainer ate enough food per day, and stopped exercising, until he was obese (via BMI). He did it so he could better understand what his clients went through re food addiction and other issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No you do not have to "get over this" OP.

A smoking Dr. is just a hypocrite to me. She is supposed to be an advocate for good health and she should be practicing what she preaches.

It's like having a diet counselor at Jenny Craig who weighs 300+ lbs. Or an esthitician who has severe acne.

If I go to get my hair done and the hair dresser has horrible looking hair, I would not even let her touch mine.

Perhaps I am being too judgmental here. But I cannot change how I feel.

You get that acne is a medical problem, right? Most adults who have acne have underlying hormonal causes for it, and often times it's severe enough that it won't fully go away even with medical treatment. It's not just a matter of washing your face in the morning and using the right type of makeup.