I’m not a doctor. I was a medic for 15 years. Generally we, (at least I did), always try to explain things if there is time. But the time I have to explain what’s happening and why can be in very short supply as a medic. Sometimes it’s an “Oh shit! We gotta go! We gotta go NOW!” moment. Plus it’s just you and me in the back. So I was often busier than a one handed milk maid at milking time and had very little time for pleasantries.
And doctors face their own time crunch. If you have ever paid attention to the scheduling your appointment, they are in 15 minute blocks. And then they need to be on to the next patient while trying to find the time to chart their encounter with you. There are few of them and an endless supply of patients. And they need to keep that assembly line moving. If they spent as much time with their patients as THEY would like, imagine how long you would be sitting in that waiting room. You better bring drinks and a sandwich. Possibly a blanket.
And there ain’t any medical system that has enough doctors anywhere on this planet either to make things better for the doctors or the patients.
I think there is the misconception that patients have, that they expect doctors and other medical staff to be polite.
They are not there to be polite, they are there to fix a problem.
In regular situations it’s wildly impolite to ask a woman whether she’s pregnant, especially if she’s not. But a doctor needs that information, so it would be quite smart if people would just get over themselves and understand that they will be asked a few impolite questions when talking to medical staff.
I’m not a doctor. I was a medic for 15 years. Generally we, (at least I did), always try to explain things if there is time. But the time I have to explain what’s happening and why can be in very short supply as a medic. Sometimes it’s an “Oh shit! We gotta go! We gotta go NOW!” moment. Plus it’s just you and me in the back. So I was often busier than a one handed milk maid at milking time and had very little time for pleasantries.
And doctors face their own time crunch. If you have ever paid attention to the scheduling your appointment, they are in 15 minute blocks. And then they need to be on to the next patient while trying to find the time to chart their encounter with you. There are few of them and an endless supply of patients. And they need to keep that assembly line moving. If they spent as much time with their patients as THEY would like, imagine how long you would be sitting in that waiting room. You better bring drinks and a sandwich. Possibly a blanket.
And there ain’t any medical system that has enough doctors anywhere on this planet either to make things better for the doctors or the patients.
I think there is the misconception that patients have, that they expect doctors and other medical staff to be polite.
They are not there to be polite, they are there to fix a problem.
In regular situations it’s wildly impolite to ask a woman whether she’s pregnant, especially if she’s not. But a doctor needs that information, so it would be quite smart if people would just get over themselves and understand that they will be asked a few impolite questions when talking to medical staff.