Yeah, lol, I was kind of wondering what LindsayBluth meant by the difference between strep and pneumonia
Although I do appreciate your comments, Lindsay
Aw, man! I only knew it as streptococcus. Ah, well you got what I meant 
Well, a bunch of other genuses besides streptococcus can also cause pneumonia.
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Willingness to listen to the patient.
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Clever enough to lead the patient into more disclosure of info if needed. MOre or less be a good detective in a way.
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Knowledge of his/her medical field.
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Warmth of personality.
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Honesty. There are many examples. For example, the ability to say "I need to look into your symptoms more deeply, let me give you a call tomorrow.
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Being organized and showing that the patient’s history and labs have been reviewed before seeing the patient.
Hopefully Gestalt has learned through this exercise that you can not please all the people all of the time, as the majority of overweight posters in this thread have commented on how annoying it is to constantly be reminded by the person responsible for improving their medical condition that they are clinically overweight. YMMV.
My experience is by no means representative. The first part of my advice is what I’ve witnessed from my parents and their colleagues. Some docs are real dumbasses but have a near cult-like following. It all depends on what you want. Some people - arguably most - would rather have someone who makes them feel good, a lifecoach of sorts.
My gynecologist is known for being gruff. He enters the room with his nose stuck in your file, murming “hi lindsaybluth” without making eye contact. But he’s boarded in many different specialties, trained in some great places, and is extremely gentle. I’m not looking for someone to empathize with me, I’m looking for the guy who knows BV from his own ass.
Also, it’s ridiculous to suggest that a physician is “responsible for improving their medical condition”. He can check your blood pressure and run blood tests, he can’t take that piece of cake or wheel of cheese out of your fat fingers.
I was doc shopping for years trying to find one that would prescribe painkillers. I was bone on bone in my left knee, and worked 14 hrs a day, most of it on my feet.
My current doc refused as well. I figured I didnt have much to lose, so I kind of let her have it, in as civilized a way as I could…but I was kinda nasty. We went head to head for about 15 minutes. It was obvious that I had done my research and was well aware of the consequenses. She actually came though for me. I was on vicodin for a year before I found myself in a favorable situation to get a knee replacement. I’m happy and pain-free for the first time since the early 80s, and I have a great doc, that I wouldnt have had if she wasnt willing to scrap with me.
I wouldn’t mind knowing what you told him. I’m sure I’ll come to regret it, but … share?
Be open to things your patient brings to the table. e.g. if the patient has read about a condition, don’t dismiss what s/he says just because “you can’t believe everything on the internet”. I had occasion to mention a condition that I’d read about, to my neuro/sleep doc; it’s one where there’s no consensus that it even exists, but the writeup I saw happened to describe my symptoms exactly… so I mentioned it to the doc and asked him if he could keep an eye out for it in the journals. He was actually open to that suggestion.
Of course from the patient’s standpoint in that situation, I was up front about how “can’t self diagnose from internet, not sure this is real” etc. - as opposed to the problem patients who barge in and say “I READ THIS - I MUST HAVE THIS DISEASE”.
Oh - and explain stuff, don’t simply order tests and not discuss the results. Same doc as above… ordered a painful test and then never really told me the results.
And, respect the patient’s intelligence. Again, same doc. Ordered some bloodwork which was routine for my condition. I didn’t look too closely at the order, but when I saw the bill from the lab I noticed it included a test I’d never heard of. Did some digging… and found it was for… syphilis! Given I had evidence of neuropathy, this was a very reasonable thing to check for. He didn’t tell me it was on the list, most likely because some patients would have gotten offended. Frankly, if you mislead a patient for fear of offending them, it’s not a good doctor/patient pairing.
Wow. I’m not sure exactly what that entails, but the images that come to mind are sort of messy. I’m not surprised the doctor didn’t want to see him again.
It’s really not hard. You just look down and see if they’re on the floor.
Two thing make a doctor good.
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Talk to them like a person. They’re not doctors. They don’t understand technical things. You have to assess each person and talk to them to make sure they know what you said. Have them repeat back to you what you said, so you can make sure your instructions are heard.
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Listen to the person. Yes, you as a doctor know the ganglion cyst on his wrist isn’t anything to worry about. But your patient has spent 2 weeks thinking he has cancer. Don’t dismiss a fear but rather educate your patient.
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Educate your patient, explain that he/she has a role in his/her health. You can do no more than guide them to recovery. They’ll have to do their bit. You have to get them thinking you’re a team
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Show some concern. My last doctor asked me something and I told him the answer and he said, “Now if you had a problem you’d tell me right? I don’t want something to be wrong and you walking out of this office without me knowing.”
Now I was really impressed by that. I didn’t hold back info, but I felt WOW what a nice guy to actually go that step and show actual concern for me.