Anonymous
Post 02/04/2023 00:10     Subject: Starting to distrust doctors and find most to be smug
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I never used to have this problem. But lately I am beginning to be distrusting of most primary care providers. I’ve never had an issue with any specialists I’ve seen.

My primary care providers have either abruptly left, not paid attention during my visits, talked over me, been demeaning, and overall just smug and rude.


Do you see MDs for primary care? I stopped seeing doctors and now see NPs and PAs and stopped having this problem. However I feel like primary care especially is a profit-optimization machine rather than focused on patient experience, so I have low expectations.


In addition to profit-optimization, primary care is also focused on symptom management through pharmaceuticals, instead of root cause diagnostics and true health management through lifestyle choices, diet, etc.

Bingo.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2023 23:49     Subject: Re:Starting to distrust doctors and find most to be smug
Anonymous wrote:My main issue with doctors is not the arrogance, though that does exist. My issue is that many of them are quick to prescribe drugs, despite that many health issues could be combated with dietary changes. I would like for doctors to focus more on diet and less on drugs.

A question for the medical types on this board - I have heard that medical school includes a laughably small amount of instruction on diet. Is this true?


Yes, it’s true. American medicine is big business, and just like any other business the #1 priority has to be profits. No one here can dispute that. So why would they prioritize healthy lifestyle changes?
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2023 23:43     Subject: Re:Starting to distrust doctors and find most to be smug
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I never cease to be amazed by the doctor hatred on this board. You’d rather entrust your health to someone who never went to medical school or trained in a residency. Just astonishing.


Based on many patient experiences, that training obviously doesn't help them to develop patient interaction and listening skills. Most patients just want someone to listen to them and take them seriously. Doctors seem to be trained in finding the quickest solution possible to get the patient out of the office.


Well be sure to call a paralegal next time you need a lawyer. I’ve heard they are great listeners.


That’s actually a great comparison. I’ve used paralegals for purchasing a home and for help preparing paperwork for adoption.
And my pcp is an NP who is far more attentive than my old md pcp doc.
I left him when - after being his patient for over five years - he told me I shouod probably see a cardiologist. Hey Jack ass, I’ve been under a cardiologist care for many years, and all those notes are in your files.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2023 23:38     Subject: Starting to distrust doctors and find most to be smug
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Has anyone had a better experience going to a concierge practice like One Medical? I really need a new PCP and the one I like is with OM, but I’m hesitant to join a concierge practice - but will if it means more attention and less of a rat race.


I joined One Medical a few months ago and have had a great experience so far. My first appointment was 30 minutes face to face with my doctor who actually listened and asked questions that showed she was actively listening. She also got 2 referrals in for me the same day and I was able to get both appointments within a week. She's also been extremely responsive with test results. So far, I would say the $199 to join has been worth it.


Sadly primary care is becoming like the airline industry where they now charge you extra for what used to be standard of care.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2023 23:36     Subject: Re:Starting to distrust doctors and find most to be smug
Anonymous wrote:My main issue with doctors is not the arrogance, though that does exist. My issue is that many of them are quick to prescribe drugs, despite that many health issues could be combated with dietary changes. I would like for doctors to focus more on diet and less on drugs.

A question for the medical types on this board - I have heard that medical school includes a laughably small amount of instruction on diet. Is this true?



I mean I *wish* that people would adhere to the dietary advice they receive, so many problems could be solved, improved or prevented if they did. But unfortunately people are weak and indulgent and confused and forgetful and also often poor, and they don’t, can’t, or won’t follow much of the dietary advice they receive. Also sometimes (particularly for cholesterol) diet just isn’t enough.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2023 23:34     Subject: Re:Starting to distrust doctors and find most to be smug
Anonymous wrote:My main issue with doctors is not the arrogance, though that does exist. My issue is that many of them are quick to prescribe drugs, despite that many health issues could be combated with dietary changes. I would like for doctors to focus more on diet and less on drugs.

A question for the medical types on this board - I have heard that medical school includes a laughably small amount of instruction on diet. Is this true?



Not really we had a mini course on nutrition. And we do learn about nutrition aspects relevant to our specialty during residency. However, practically speaking, medical school does not spend time educating people in professions that are staffed by non-doctors and hospitals routinely employ registered dieticians who have degrees in nutrition, so we incorporate them into a multifaceted team. Other things doctors don’t learn: dentistry, podiatry, physical therapy, respiratory therapy, speech therapy. Bc those are all degree programs and we work collaboratively with the appropriate licensed professional who does that.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2023 23:29     Subject: Starting to distrust doctors and find most to be smug
Anonymous wrote:PAs and NPs somehow don't get sued.


Bc they have less money and lower malpractice and lawyers go after deep pockets. Also if they work with a supervising physician they pass their liability non to the physician and they end up suing the person with the highest license. It is truly a lose-lose situation for the MD.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2023 21:49     Subject: Starting to distrust doctors and find most to be smug
I was a nurse for almost a decade (quit a few years before COVID) and "God complex" was and probably still is a very real thing. Also, in my experience, there's a lot of idiots out there (mostly in the PCP/Urgent Care space).
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2023 21:42     Subject: Starting to distrust doctors and find most to be smug
Like having chronic illness and immune system disease isn't enough and life changing dealing with these crappy doctors make me not want to be here at times. They have their own agenda which doesn't involve trying to make me more comfortable one specialist is trying to run a ton more tests when I don't have any symptoms of what they are trying to diagnose me. Don't I have enough wrong with me you can't help with? Please don't give me any more.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2023 21:06     Subject: Starting to distrust doctors and find most to be smug
Anonymous wrote:Has anyone had a better experience going to a concierge practice like One Medical? I really need a new PCP and the one I like is with OM, but I’m hesitant to join a concierge practice - but will if it means more attention and less of a rat race.


I joined One Medical a few months ago and have had a great experience so far. My first appointment was 30 minutes face to face with my doctor who actually listened and asked questions that showed she was actively listening. She also got 2 referrals in for me the same day and I was able to get both appointments within a week. She's also been extremely responsive with test results. So far, I would say the $199 to join has been worth it.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2023 16:59     Subject: Re:Starting to distrust doctors and find most to be smug
I bet they got good MCAT scores though.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2023 16:00     Subject: Starting to distrust doctors and find most to be smug
Anonymous wrote:PAs and NPs somehow don't get sued.


No, they do, and it's increasing. There are more malpractice complaints against NPs and PAs than against physicians, although the payouts for physicians are higher -- because the physician group includes OB-Gyns, neurosurgeons, and all of the high risk procedures.

But NPs and PAs are sued. They are being sued more frequently, and they have a proportionally higher number of malpractice complaints than physicians, according to the National Practitioner Database.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2023 15:58     Subject: Re:Starting to distrust doctors and find most to be smug
My main issue with doctors is not the arrogance, though that does exist. My issue is that many of them are quick to prescribe drugs, despite that many health issues could be combated with dietary changes. I would like for doctors to focus more on diet and less on drugs.

A question for the medical types on this board - I have heard that medical school includes a laughably small amount of instruction on diet. Is this true?

Anonymous
Post 02/03/2023 15:51     Subject: Starting to distrust doctors and find most to be smug
PAs and NPs somehow don't get sued.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2023 15:45     Subject: Starting to distrust doctors and find most to be smug
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I'm an RN and prefer NPs for my PCP. Dh and DS also see NPs. I really do think part of the MD burnout is because of how PCP is set up. Med school is long and expensive and in the grand scheme of the MD world, they don't make much. The system is set up to see as many patients as they can a day in order to make money. And dealing with the general public burns you out as it is.

Nps who go into a PCP do it because they want to. And while the schooling is hard, its not as expensive and time consuming as MD


Yeah and just wait until they miss something important or you get really sick or they screw up your medications. I’m an MD and spend about 1/3 of my time correcting and undoing the mistakes of NPs and PAs who practice without supervision. It’s crazy that this is even allowed. I’ve worked with absolutely wonderful NPs and RNs as part of a team, inpatient. But allowing them to practice independently unsupervised on the theory that 85% of medicine is “routine” is insane. 15% of the time it’s not. And even in that 85%, only the best ones know when they don’t know and are wise enough to say so. So much invested in proving that medical school and residency are somehow superfluous to the practice of being a doctor.


This 100%. The 2 NPs I saw because my Dr didn’t have an appointment available were total screw ups. They were completely wrong in the diagnosis.