I have to vent about something. I'm seeing it a lot lately, and to be honest, I don't like it. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it involves both members of our household, but it's bugging me.
I know Facebook is the place where friends talk, post photos, and let the whole world know what they're doing as often as they feel like updating their status. I'm one of them. It's entertaining to eavesdrop on people's goings-on and see fun pictures and even catch up with a long-lost friend. Good times. What I don't like is when people start bitching and moaning about medical matters.
"Doctors don't know what they're talking about." "Stupid medications, why do I have to take them- I can't sleep!" "What I do is take a bunch of Tylenol and Advil on a regular schedule, that should help you."
Pretty much, it's a bunch of people complaining about how their doctor/clinic/nurse doesn't know anything and they know it all, won't drop what they're doing and see me, asked me a question and I didn't like it so therefore they are rude and uneducated.
(Lots of blinking, pursed lips, LOTS of unspoken comments...)
I really do have a lot to say about this, but I have to go to Day #2 of NCLEX review in about an hour and still need to shower, walk the houseguest (more on this later, but there is a labrador retriever in our house for the next 2 days) and make myself breakfast.
First of all, if you had any idea how asinine it sounds when you spout off how doctors don't know anything, you'd bite your tongue in shame. This is usually done when the doctor tells them something they don't want to hear or when (gasp!) they really might not know what the problem is and need to do some things to find out. Just a little inside info- doctors are human and don't know everything. There are a few pieces of work that care more about money and less about patients, but the majority really want to make an impact and better their patients' lives. Just because they can't find the answer doesn't mean they don't care or are stupid, there are just things that we still just don't know about. But don't know anything? Those 4 years of med school that follow 4 years of undergraduate work? Not spent doing kegstands and chasing skirts! And residency? Most doctors I know call it the darkest time of their lives. And what do they have to repay them? A bunch of people that only appreciate them when medical care is on their terms and benefits them the most. Awesome. I understand there are people that have not been able to be helped by modern, Western medicine and I hate that- I wish there were answers and you could be treated. But many of these comments come across as petulant response to something they just don't like or didn't want to hear. If you don't like it, then you can just go back to being an armchair diagnostician, googling random illnesses, smacktalking people that actually hold a degree and are qualified to treat you, and overdose yourself on whatever you see fit. By all means, carry on. And those antibiotics? You stop taking them when you feel better and share them with people- even though the pharmacy instructions say not to? And you buy them in Mexico because you don't need a prescription and they're cheaper? Fantastic. A doctor can't see you for ONE WHOLE WEEK? Good god- are you the only person in their practice and the only person in the city? Could it be at all possible that someone, somewhere has the same condition as you (or is just sick as well) and needs the same care? I realize that is shocking, especially in a culture where we expect (no, demand) to be attended to on command. The docs aren't being rude, and most likely they're not off playing golf while you sit around sick or in a cast.
And now to be personal, I had someone comment that a nurse made a statement about a medication (which was true) and because they didn't like it, they bashed about it on Facebook. And the best part? Everyone commented about how they would've told the nurse to stick it, she doesn't know anything, that they would've PUNCHED the nurse. Really? Again, that whole school part, while it doesn't give us the right to lord information over you, nurses are charged with caring and educating and empowering patients with information so they can better their lives. If you don't like it, suck it up or don't ask. But don't ask, and then complain when it doesn't fit your life or you didn't like the outcome.
I'm not saying all doctors and nurses are perfect. But you'd be surprised how many care about their patients and are trying to make a difference. Think of them the next time you feel the need to slam them in a public setting. You never know who's reading and now thinks you might be an ungrateful terd. It won't change how you're treated (or shouldn't) because of that whole ETHICS thing, but we notice. And it sucks when we put up with a lot and work long hours to make your life better... and you say (even jokingly) that you would punch us in the face if you were told something. I want to pull the whole "if you lived in a third-world country you might not even get to see a nurse or doctor to even get the chance to threaten them with a slap" card, but really, that's just not going to change things. Only realizing that nobody is perfect is going to help at this point.
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