On Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:10:08 -0400, the infamous "Mike Marlow"
scrawled the following:

Larry Jaques wrote:


You sound as if you trust doctors to do the right thing and that they
actually care. I haven't found that in a doctor yet.

I have. I have found that in my family physician, and he knows we care, so
we get concerned treatment from him. I'm sure he treats people that don't
exhibit the same amount of care of concern for their own treatment, and they
probably receive less attemtion from him than we do. Likewise from
specialists, etc. Part of our initial conversations include the disclosure
(direct or indirect), that we think about things, and don't just robotically
do as we are told.

Thankfully, I've never even -met- a specialist. I'm only 56, though.


I'll say this much - it is my experience that doctors of all sorts genuinely
appreciate patients who demonstrate enough concern for themselves, to spend
a little time making themselves more aware of treatments, options,
ramifications, etc.

Oh, I've always done that, too. And I find doctors intelligent, just
not really caring or sharing. Most seem quite hurried (their office
manglers overbook them on purpose, I think) distracted, and unhappy.


I do not consistently encounter physicians who won't
invest in me once they realize I have invested in myself.

I hate to go see doctors, so I've always tried to have as much
knowledge about the subject at hand as they do, if not more (more
common.) I seldom have any disease of interest to them. House would
just _hate_ me.


They are
perfectly willing to hold informative conversations with me in the examining
room, etc. I suspect that anyone who does not experience this is either
getting what they deserve, or needs to invest the time to find a new
physician.

Most react to my attention to detail and awareness of what's going on
in my body with pleasant surprise and a grin. (I know that probably
sounds awfully arrogant, but that's not the tone of the interaction,
honest.) "I was going to pry that info out of you but you told me
without prompting. Wonderful." But I don't get the long and
informative conversations you talk of, Mike.

I see doctors every 3-10 years, and then only if I -have- to.

--
Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile I caught hell for.
-- Earl Warren