Tag doctors

Let The Doctor Rest

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

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One of the biggest grievances I have as a physician is the fact that people assume that I am on call all the time for every random medical question. People will ask me questions at the gym, the grocery store, and via email. Many people have even contacted me on Facebook with detailed medical questions which they expect me to answer, and some will even cop an attitude when I very nicely tell them that I cannot address their question via Facebook message. No other profession deals with the same amount of queries. Would you ask your tax person a detailed question via Facebook?

I have even gotten texts in the middle of the night (thank goodness I turn my ringer off while I sleep) with medical questions. Sometimes the questions don’t even pertain to the person asking, but to a friend or relative. That is when I get annoyed, because it isn’t my responsibility to dole out free medical advice to everyone.

I realize that by putting my foot down and setting boundaries, I will cause some individuals to seek diagnoses on their own, which is also quite frustrating. They will go online and attempt to find a diagnosis, despite the fact that they have no medical expertise whatsoever. These are the people who infuriate doctors, because they will march into doctors’ offices and behave as if they have all the answers. This type of attitude is not only frustrating to medical professionals, it can be downright dangerous when the wrong diagnosis is made.

Please understand that I will not diagnose your niece’s boyfriend’s strange skin condition, even if you send me five images of the condition, taken at different angles and at different stages of the flareup. Such requests take unfair advantage of all of my schooling and post-doctoral training, which I have every right to charge for. As a matter of fact, it would be irresponsible of me to respond to such requests.

If the medical malady is of an urgent or emergent nature, then I suggest that you avail yourself of the appropriate service. Urgent care centers and emergency rooms exist for a reason. I am not a stand-alone urgent care center, nor am I a doctor on call 24/7. Please respect my time off.

For those of you who are physicians or surgeons, I welcome responses to this post.

Curbside Consults

drstaceynaito 1 Comment
Even though my board specialty is family practice, this works!

Even though my board specialty is family practice, this works!

Ask any physician if he or she minds being asked a medical question by a stranger or acquaintance while at a party, and I will bet that the answer will bean emphatic YES across the board. Just because we docs take the Hippocratic Oath and are committed to the service of healing does not mean that we want to be on call wherever we go, doling out free medical consultations to anyone who asks. I am waiting for the day when an auto mechanic asks me to diagnose a medical condition so that I can respond with, “Hey, you’re a mechanic. Would you mind looking at my car and telling me what that ticking noise is?” Honestly, I am SICK OF IT. I have people private message me on Facebook because they know that I am a doctor, and they will go in to great detail in their descriptions of whatever ailment plagues them, then implore me to diagnose them for free.

There have been instances in which my friends have introduced me to people and have said, “Oh! Stacey is a doc…you know what? You should ask her about that thing on your shoulder!”, which is immediately followed by a quick history and an expectation for me to provide a quick consultation and diagnosis. I almost want to say, “Do you have any idea how much my education cost? Do you know how much it costs me for the privilege of being a doctor? Yet you want a free consultation? I’m trying to get to my gym bag here!” There are a few professions which get such queries for free advice, such as massage therapists, chiropractors and attorneys. Perhaps we would communicate our exasperation more clearly if we just said, “You want fries with that?” when someone asked us for free professional advice. I think that reply would stop anyone dead in their tracks.

I implore any of you who are considering asking a doctor for medical advice to resist the urge. We often cannot diagnose sight unseen, and we certainly don’t wish to take on the liability of providing medical advise, diagnoses or treatment suggestions in such an environment. Though you may balk at the process of scheduling an appointment to see a physician and driving to the office, please understand that we cannot provide a fast food type service in medicine. When we are off the clock, let us enjoy our lives outside of medicine.