Are doctors really expected to have every symptom of every ailment perfectly memorized?

Depends what they were looking up and why. We had a newbie pediatric dermatologist do this...but he did it to show us a photo of a rash that looked like what our on had (I guess to show us he was right). So, that wasn't an issue for me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My doctor uses an Ipad. That makes me feel a LOT better....who uses books anymore anyway?

I don't think most medical journals are accessible on the internet. If my 7th grader isn't allowed to use Wikipedia as a primary source, neither is my doctor!!

I imagine you could pay to subscribe to online medical journals, as a good doc should do if he wants to stay up to date.

They are online. DH's medical study got recently approved for publication and it was online way sooner than it was printed.

I had this happen at a Minute Clinic. But it was a PA. It was a very basic complaint and he wasn't much help.

I'd be fine with it. I'd be happy that the doc realized he/she didn't know the answer and knew where to look up the correct answer.

Anonymous wrote:I'd be relieved that they know what they don't know and know how to find out the right answer.

This. Take into consideration that medicine is a dynamic field. What was current protocol for a specific condition 5 or 10 years ago, may be updated today. It is great the dr keeps up with the litarature and if he feels that he hadn't looked into a certain condition for some time or it may have had updates that he is not sure of that he is not lazy or shy to look it up.

Now that I live in NYC, I've had some pretty bad experiences with doctors who just rush you through, a doctor who answered her cell phone in the middle of the appointment without even excusing herself, and just generally doctors that cut corners. I would be so grateful if a doctor took the time to do what he needed to do to treat me. A doctor who looks things up is a doctor who wants to do the best job he can.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My doctor uses an Ipad. That makes me feel a LOT better....who uses books anymore anyway?

I don't think most medical journals are accessible on the internet. If my 7th grader isn't allowed to use Wikipedia as a primary source, neither is my doctor!!

I imagine you could pay to subscribe to online medical journals, as a good doc should do if he wants to stay up to date.

Anonymous wrote:My doctor uses an Ipad. That makes me feel a LOT better....who uses books anymore anyway?

I don't think most medical journals are accessible on the internet. If my 7th grader isn't allowed to use Wikipedia as a primary source, neither is my doctor!!

Anonymous wrote:I had this in my 30s when I had chicken pox. Dr was not young. I was surprised given it's a pretty standard disease! I was very sick though, so just grateful for any help.

Me too! Had chicken pox in my 40s. My doc was in his late 30s and knew what to prescribe, but not what dosage for an adult with chickenpox. I was glad he went and looked it up. He's a good doc--listed in washingtonian mag as a top doc.

I had this in my 30s when I had chicken pox. Dr was not young. I was surprised given it's a pretty standard disease! I was very sick though, so just grateful for any help.

They must not have been AOA in med school...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My doctor uses an Ipad. That makes me feel a LOT better....who uses books anymore anyway?

Sorry, is sarcasm not something understood on your planet?

Yes, but usually only used by subpar lifeforms.

Think of it this way, malpractice claims happen significantly more often to those doctors who DON'T do this. So, do you want a doctor to verify what he's doing before doing it, or one that will just guess or "think he remembers" and diagnoses or prescribes from a sketchy memory?

I have had several doctors do this and they are the doctors that I trust the most. I love that they are confident enough to say they aren't sure and will find out.