Comments on: Julia’s Rules for Medical Professionals http://www.thestadlers.org/entry/317 A man, a woman, a boy, a blog: golbayobanamowanama! Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:49:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Morgan http://www.thestadlers.org/entry/317/comment-page-1#comment-3638 Morgan Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:25:52 +0000 http://www.thestadlers.org/?p=317#comment-3638 My favorite providers are the ones who put a little EXTRA note in your chart with patient trivia, ie. "Husband works at Intel. Next time: ask about son's pirate party!" Because then they not only look like geniuses, they actually seem to care about me as a person. I'm a sucker for that stuff, especially with my OB/GYN. Because, folks, that's a pretty personal relationship. I think it's interesting that Beeman and Kimb both feel like docs might not feel comfortable asking about your profession, and can definitely see how some patients might not like it either. This, I guess, is where the firm and courteous assertiveness comes in handy. When I was in college, I had a doctor kindly try to explain to me the structure of the lungs, and I just went ahead and interrupted him, like, "OK, just came from the cadaver lab. I already know about the pleura." Did that annoy the doc? Maybe. But I saved us both some time, and at least I wasn't annoyed! :) My favorite providers are the ones who put a little EXTRA note in your chart with patient trivia, ie. “Husband works at Intel. Next time: ask about son’s pirate party!” Because then they not only look like geniuses, they actually seem to care about me as a person. I’m a sucker for that stuff, especially with my OB/GYN. Because, folks, that’s a pretty personal relationship.

I think it’s interesting that Beeman and Kimb both feel like docs might not feel comfortable asking about your profession, and can definitely see how some patients might not like it either. This, I guess, is where the firm and courteous assertiveness comes in handy. When I was in college, I had a doctor kindly try to explain to me the structure of the lungs, and I just went ahead and interrupted him, like, “OK, just came from the cadaver lab. I already know about the pleura.” Did that annoy the doc? Maybe. But I saved us both some time, and at least I wasn’t annoyed! :)

]]> By: Beeman http://www.thestadlers.org/entry/317/comment-page-1#comment-3628 Beeman Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:44:02 +0000 http://www.thestadlers.org/?p=317#comment-3628 Good points! However, I doubt that doctors, particularly pediatricians, are going to start asking parents what they do for a living. Plenty of stay-at-home parents out there would probably get huffy, particularly if they haven't ever done anything professionally! Perhaps you could ensure these points are following by greeting the doctor with "I'm a high-school science teacher, what's your name?". Good points! However, I doubt that doctors, particularly pediatricians, are going to start asking parents what they do for a living. Plenty of stay-at-home parents out there would probably get huffy, particularly if they haven’t ever done anything professionally!

Perhaps you could ensure these points are following by greeting the doctor with “I’m a high-school science teacher, what’s your name?”.

]]> By: J http://www.thestadlers.org/entry/317/comment-page-1#comment-3559 J Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:22:21 +0000 http://www.thestadlers.org/?p=317#comment-3559 Kimberly, good point about double-checking the chart. Some people phrase it like "your chart says...but are you still?" and other people just ask the same questions every time they see you. I was thinking in particular of one student midwife I saw when I was overdue with Simon (thus really impatient, sensitive, intolerant of repeating myself). She was explaining the induction process to me, and I interrupted her to say I didn't need all the prep because I was ready to go (let the reader understand), and she kept insisting that I had to do all the prep. I was this close to saying "No. Did you read my (expletive) chart?!?" But then the real midwife came in and I made her set the record straight. As you can see, I'm still kind of worked up about it. Also, be sure to give warning before palpating someone's kneecap or they might accidentally kick you in the face. ;) Kimberly, good point about double-checking the chart. Some people phrase it like “your chart says…but are you still?” and other people just ask the same questions every time they see you. I was thinking in particular of one student midwife I saw when I was overdue with Simon (thus really impatient, sensitive, intolerant of repeating myself). She was explaining the induction process to me, and I interrupted her to say I didn’t need all the prep because I was ready to go (let the reader understand), and she kept insisting that I had to do all the prep. I was this close to saying “No. Did you read my (expletive) chart?!?” But then the real midwife came in and I made her set the record straight. As you can see, I’m still kind of worked up about it.

Also, be sure to give warning before palpating someone’s kneecap or they might accidentally kick you in the face. ;)

]]> By: kimb http://www.thestadlers.org/entry/317/comment-page-1#comment-3548 kimb Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:06:06 +0000 http://www.thestadlers.org/?p=317#comment-3548 Great advice! I will always try to keep that in mind when practicing. It would be hard for me to ask a family member's profession for me. I mean, I guess I would get used to it if I worked with peds all the time. :) Just a thought, but they may ask you questions about things that are already in your chart just to confirm that the chart is correct. We always take our own medical history and sometimes catch things that other clinicians missed or got wrong. Maybe that's why they ask questions that have already been answered, or maybe they truly are just lazy. Great advice! I will always try to keep that in mind when practicing. It would be hard for me to ask a family member’s profession for me. I mean, I guess I would get used to it if I worked with peds all the time. :)

Just a thought, but they may ask you questions about things that are already in your chart just to confirm that the chart is correct. We always take our own medical history and sometimes catch things that other clinicians missed or got wrong. Maybe that’s why they ask questions that have already been answered, or maybe they truly are just lazy.

]]> By: Jason http://www.thestadlers.org/entry/317/comment-page-1#comment-3545 Jason Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:23:53 +0000 http://www.thestadlers.org/?p=317#comment-3545 Couldn't agree more! Couldn’t agree more!

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