Posts by nimblestag31

- they just don't communicate enough with patients—you know, saying stuff like "they won't understand anyway" or "I don't have time for this kind of talk,"
maybe it's because they're working solo shifts where they have to see something like 120 patients in a single day—not even exaggerating here
- they can be pretty arrogant sometimes, too I mean, anyone in any profession can be like that, I guess, but hopefully they're in the minority
- they act all offended if a patient doesn't agree with them and honestly, patients are often wrong... though I can't say that's always the case
- they’re always in such a rush and seem to have zero time for the patient, yet somehow find plenty of time for coffee breaks and chatting—just wasting time as if it’s better to take on 40 more people on top of those 120 and skip their coffee break, let alone lunch, God forbid
- they don't really like letting patients make decisions; they'd rather just decide everything themselves
- when it comes to treatment plans, they often prioritize their own interests over the patient's—like, "Oh, I'm going on vacation tomorrow, so let's just do this now..."
- they don't seem to care how long people are waiting, and they don't really try to shorten the lines at all go ahead and suggest a way to fix the wait times, and I bet you'll get nothing but negativity until our messy government actually fixes the healthcare system. we're so short-staffed, it's basically impossible to get rid of the waiting lists

I don't want to comment on everything—some things are definitely true, but you shouldn't generalize... they're all human beings and most of them do an amazing job, especially considering the conditions in public hospitals. It's actually pretty impressive how they manage to stay sane at all
there are bad ones, for sure, but whenever this topic comes up, someone always jumps in to trash the entire profession without considering the state of our healthcare system at much higher levels than just one doctor

bluebison8 said:I was actually planning on tenting this year, but then I checked the official website and saw they require you to buy a specific pass just to sleep in the camp $167 (LOL 😠 ), so I decided against it. I have zero interest in dealing with the headache of illegal camping!

Okay, so they fixed it so it's $33, but if you're a student, accreditation for basically all the screenings is only $150, which honestly seems totally fine 🙂
I was browsing through some sleeping bags and tents today—might end up grabbing some in the next few days, I guess 😉

Of course it's not far
but I don't really feel like being there until 10 just to drive home, nap, and then head back again in the morning... plus, maybe we could have some fun in the evening too... there's also that factor 🙂

So, another Sundance is coming up soon—the crew and I were thinking it might be fun to hit up the festival this year...
I'm having a bit of a hard time figuring out the lodging situation, and if we end up staying in a tent, I'm already stressing about hygiene and how comfortable those things actually are... plus, how many days should we stay? And once we get there, how long is the drive from the Napa Valley area to the coast?

Anyway, if anyone here has been to Sundance before, I'd love to hear what you thought about it 🙂

Thanks

Sam Hall15 said:Quick question for nimblestag31—not even related to the main topic—but I guess your generation should probably be taking their exams from the 11th edition of Guyton? Maybe? 😁

So, uhm... anyway. 🙄
When we started physiology last year, there wasn't even a hint that an 11th edition was coming—and honestly, I guess there's barely any difference between the 9th and 10th editions anyway, aside from that ugly red font they used in the 10th.
So, I ended up going with a much cheaper option—saved a few hundred bucks, I guess! 🙂
I wonder if they actually updated the glucose levels in the 11th—I guess I'll check once I have it in my hands. 😁

Charles Edwards8, I'm so sorry that's the reason behind your username—I really hope you get a quick win over Mr. Charles Edwards8 soon! 😉
It’s gotta go ASAP—I guess—maybe even sooner. 😉

Let me try to cheer you up a little bit too 😉
So, something I just learned—I was studying for a physiology exam recently, and while I was reading about insulin and diabetes, I noticed how different sources all say something slightly different about what "normal" blood glucose levels actually are
It seems like the definition of a healthy range keeps creeping up in this modern era
In an old textbook from 1999 (Guyton), they listed the normal range as 3.5 - 5.5 mmol/L
My professor mentioned 3.9 - 6.1 during the lecture
And nowadays, looking at lab results, the upper limit can go all the way up to 6.7 mmol/L

So, I guess there's really no reason to worry yet. Maybe try getting your blood drawn one more time? I'm rooting for a clean result next time... hopefully that cappuccino wasn't the culprit
Usually, people who are diabetic but don't know it yet see numbers around 15-20, and sometimes even up to 30 mmol/L...

Anyway, Charles Edwards8, your username is kind of funny 😲

I think I actually heard that number from $83
just yesterday—maybe?

Oh yeah, by the way—sending my best to everyone too! 👋

p.s. maybe we’ll all run into each other at some doctor's office in a year or two 😉
and I promise I'll try my best to be nice—though if I end up being a bit unhelpful to someone, believe me, I'm already feeling bad about it...

👋

@Angela Bailey30
It honestly doesn't make sense to drag Genghis Khan and his work through the mud if you don't actually know anything about it—especially since he didn't really say anything wrong to begin with...
Of course there's a fuse, and it’s probably a pretty long one considering how much he's put up with in this exhausting, not-so-smart debate... plus, I guess Noah Vaughn3 might be throwing out a little provocation too, if you haven't noticed 😁
I'm not sure what kind of fuse you think someone needs to start attacking veterans and everyone who served, just because a few individuals stand out from the crowd of people who truly sacrificed everything. It's a heavy topic, but I suppose it would be like disrespecting your own profession, too...
Hmm, though I guess ER doctors can't exactly spend all day sipping coffee when they're dealing with daily tragedies—you know, things like burns, broken bones, or people who are just... well, dying. Life happens, even in the medical field...

@feralorca2
Are you seriously thirteen, or is there something more serious going on? Your level of maturity is... well, it's certainly something

brisknomad6 said:How many more examples do we have to provide before you all (doctors and future doctors) admit there are parasites among your ranks and that patients aren't always the ones at fault?

There are plenty of examples—honestly, I could probably come up with a million more, and I know enough firsthand to be genuinely horrified
and besides, nobody ever claimed there weren't any parasites among the doctors...
just more generalizing and exaggerating, I guess🙄

I suppose I could ask you the same thing—how many examples do we need to give bitter patients so they realize there are bad actors in the field and it isn't just the doctors' fault???

It doesn't really make much sense, though—these kinds of topics just end up going in circles. When someone is wrong, they usually won't admit it and will just keep digging their heels in. Personally, I feel really bad whenever anyone has a bad experience in a hospital or anything like that, even if I'm not involved... unfortunately, bad experiences happen, and that's just a fact... they're going to exist in any system with doctors... in America, people are actually terrified of going to the hospital because what happens there can be truly scary...

There are terrible doctors and terrible patients, but it's still not right to label all our doctors as idiots who can't help you—or suggest people should just treat themselves online. One is advice, and the other is actual medical care...
(I mean, sure, you might get more info here, since a doctor's job is to treat you rather than teach you, and they give you as much time as they can... unfortunately, that's just how it is...) If they spent as much time with every patient as some people demand, wait times wouldn't be a month or so, they'd be seven or eight months long... again, the system is the problem here, and neither the doctor nor the patient can really do anything about it... we'd probably need three times the staff and equipment as we have now...
But then again, I guess doctors can't really blame the system when they chose this career path themselves... and it feels a little off to compare medicine to just any other profession... I'm not trying to put medicine on a pedestal, but let's face it—it requires the longest education and involves such huge sacrifices, whereas a treatment plan isn't really comparable to, say, building a house...

brisknomad6 said:and I still had like a million questions left... he had at least five patients waiting outside and maybe even an operation scheduled right after that...

I just said thanks and jumped on here—which was great because I actually got all the info I really needed from mark Lewis22 ( 😘 if you're reading this, thank you so much!) and some other ladies on the forum (shoutout to bb specifically 😘 ) who went through the exact same surgery...

Yeah, having a forum to ask whatever is on your mind is honestly such a lifesaver 🙂

True, that's... well, yeah. But imagine if you just posted on a forum like, "Ugh, my stomach hurts so bad, what should I do?" or "Is this even worth it?"

It feels a bit silly to claim a forum is better than seeing a doctor... I mean, there are a million different reasons why people look for advice, and while this is a great place for some, it probably isn't the place for everything... at least not at first.

feralorca2 said:Oh my God, please just tell me—where in Washington, D.C., can I find experts who will give me a straight answer right away for free?🤣 🤣 👍

Goodness gracious, 😘
I don't know, I'm not from Washington, D.C.... and I didn't realize money was such a huge factor here—plus, there are plenty of clinics that aren't even private...
And wait a second, are you actually suggesting that the advice you get on a forum is better or more specific than a doctor's?
Honey, if that's the case, maybe you should just drop out of school and college altogether—don't bother watching TV or reading the news if you'd rather just get all your info from a forum, assuming it's good enough to actually heal people... I mean, maybe the computer could just eject a CD-ROM and reach out from behind the monitor to feel that bump on your neck, or maybe it'll grab a stethoscope to check if you have pneumonia... or toss a CT scan under the table and call it a day...

My computer doesn't quite work like that-- I guess.😢

- hey nimblestag31, let me ask you this directly: do you honestly feel like people are ruder to doctors than they are to any other professionals they have to deal with?

nah, I don't think I ever actually mentioned being polite—it's more about the way people just bash certain professions... and I don't really look at politeness as a whole thing, it's more about individual patients, much like how critiques of physicians usually focus on specific ones. and I doubt they're actually ruder to doctors, I mean, why would they be? someone who's rude is probably gonna be just as rude to a waiter or a clerk at a checkout counter as they are to a doctor

- but don't you see that most people are just terrified in those exam rooms, acting all "please, Mr. Doctor, I beg of you" type of vibe?

no, I haven't really noticed that—though I do spend quite a bit of time in clinics myself... and honestly, if patients are truly terrified of their doctors, then that’s probably a pretty big sociological issue. I mean, how can you be scared out of your wits of someone you've come to for advice or help? okay, maybe if you're scared of the illness itself, that makes sense, but being scared of the doctor specifically 😕

- and you don't realize they'll let doctors get away with things they wouldn't let anyone else touch?

people let others get away with stuff too, I just think there needs to be a bit more understanding from both sides, I guess... because when a doctor makes an unintentional mistake, people want to treat them like a common criminal. like what feralorca2 wrote so nicely on her blog, healthy people aren't exactly flocking to hospitals anyway, yet everyone expects absolute perfection and instant cures from doctors, who are just humans too. I'm not saying mistakes are great or whatever, but it's just the reality of it. sadly, it's just how it is

- so how do you explain why so many people are asking about illnesses, treatments, and diagnoses on various forums instead of just asking doctors?

I'd say it's laziness... pure laziness. For instance, I might post a question here because it's easier to sit at my computer and type it out than it is to hop in the car and drive to a specialist who could give me a straight answer right away...
but forums are fun, sometimes they're super helpful, and it's always interesting to hear about someone else's experience or opinion on something, even if it's about a health issue

- do you think they're that foolish to believe they'll find better answers here, or can you admit they aren't getting the answers they need where they should be?

no, I don't think anyone is foolish, where does that even come from? it kind of bugs me when people label others like that in debates, but whatever... I believe they'd get the answers they need where they should be looking. Or maybe you think people dealing with serious illnesses are coming to forums because they didn't get proper medical care😕
or are you trying to say that an online forum is somehow a higher quality healthcare facility than a hospital where actual doctors work? 🤣

brisknomad6 said:...the first one was from the disability review board—which meant Mom kept working even though she was risking permanent disability—and then the second guy was on the medical board...

It’s just... well, I have to admit those review boards can be pretty hit-or-miss...
Up until recently, they were acting just like that doctor did with your mom—probably just sticking strictly to Medicare's budget constraints—but now they've got people approving month-long sick leaves for a simple sore throat... you just never know 😕

Yeah, actually—my mom was telling me this the other day... back when she started working in the ER in the early '80s, she’d pull 44-hour shifts. Like, from Thursday night straight through until Saturday afternoon. I guess they don't really mention that during orientation nowadays, and even she doesn't complain about it now—she just sees it as part of the job she chose... just like thousands of others... kind of like how Benjamin Murphy2 says he's exhausted and wishes he could spend more time with his family... honestly, he should be ashamed

brisknomad6 said:Wait, did you not know what the labor rights and responsibilities were for the career you wanted to pursue your whole life? — I guess maybe you just hadn't looked into it yet.
I guess it might have been a good idea to chat with a doctor first—just to get a better sense of what to expect, maybe?

So, before I actually signed up for med school—I guess I talked to all sorts of people, from current students to actual doctors—and everyone seemed to have such a different take on it...
One doctor was actually super encouraging when I mentioned I might bail on the med school entrance exams—she really pushed me to stick with it. It’s funny because my own mom is also a doctor, and she basically told me to think twice since I could probably have a much easier life if I just picked a different career path... maybe.
Honestly—I didn't really listen to anyone else, I guess—I just signed up because I was genuinely interested in medicine itself...

brisknomad6 said:I work—even though it’s a totally soul-crushing job—on Saturdays and Sundays, day shifts, night shifts, Thursdays, and Fridays... but I knew exactly what I was getting into, so I guess I don't really mind.

If you actually decided to go through with that—well, more power to you, I guess!
In medicine, you just never really know—I guess. You’ve got options like working in general practice, the ER, or a million different paths once you become a specialist or subspecialist—like surgery or whatever—and you could work 8, 18, or even 28 hours... but until you actually land the job, you don't really know, and honestly, you don't even know what's waiting for you once you're in there.
Since everything happens in a studio setting, I guess you won't really know for sure even after you graduate... I have two friends finishing up their degrees right now, and they'll probably end up doing internships out in rural areas—somewhere like central Nebraska or maybe Wyoming—where it’s a long trek from home. They have no clue what they want to specialize in yet—they definitely have dreams and big ambitions, obviously—but they're just worried about getting stuck in one niche, especially since there isn't much flexibility in the American system to change paths once you start.
I guess you only land a job there if you have a really solid connection... or maybe just a ton of luck—who knows?

brisknomad6 said:What do you even say to a doctor who thinks it’s okay to send a 50-year-old woman back to her old job just 42 days after surgery—especially when she’s already had two operations this year alone? I mean, that makes five surgeries in her lifetime... man.

It looks like the second doctor was way more compassionate than the first—just a fact, I guess. And it’s honestly great they actually looked into it and hopefully transferred those records over from the other guy... because you really can't just sit there being passive when a doctor is totally ignoring your problem.

Benjamin Murphy2, sorry I replied to a post meant for you—it just kind of drew me in, I guess! 😉
I guess you’ll probably end up giving an even better explanation later on—maybe.

boldsailor52 said:...actually quite the opposite, people are most humble toward doctors compared to any other profession...

I'm quoting my previous post again—the one where I mentioned humility. Just to be clear, I wasn't saying patients *should* be humble, I was just responding to the idea that they are the most humble group out there... I said that kind of humility doesn't really exist, though I never suggested it ought to...
Or should I quote it one more time so it doesn't get skipped again?

boldsailor52 said:...actually quite the opposite, people are most humble toward doctors compared to any other profession...

If it's too much work to read all the posts, maybe don't claim I said things I didn't—you can't really read between the lines if you aren't actually reading what's written...

Man, I go out for a quick coffee and suddenly there's drama here 😁
Everyone's picking on the medical field, but that's not even what I said 😛

Let's all just take a deep breath and think about the beach or the mountains for a bit 😉

feralorca2 said:I honestly can't believe those are the words coming from someone training to be a doctor... it's actually kind of scary!👎

hmm, yeah—I mean, how does a future doctor even think it's okay to be that sarcastic?

boldsailor52 said:...just a simple explanation, instead of those posts of yours where it feels like everyone is part of some crazy conspiracy against doctors. Actually, it's quite the opposite— people are probably more deferential to doctors than any other profession, which makes sense. People are posting here because they can, and mostly because they're just frustrated with that dynamic. You think anyone in my family would have said a word to the doctor who messed up my dad's eye?

Oh, I don't think it's a conspiracy at all—I'm just pointing out that the news has been full of two (okay, nasty) cases for a month now, and there will probably be a couple more... and when that major center in Chicago became the go-to spot for kidney transplants thanks to an amazing team and their breakthroughs, they only gave it a tiny column about a third of a page long...
I guess it's just human nature to find it easier to complain than to praise, but this still feels like overkill... the media shapes public opinion, and that's how the cycle keeps going.

Then it's not just the people who actually had something go wrong—which is a shame your family didn't say anything, since you guys have a pretty solid reason—but it starts looking like people are just mocking the guilt of folks who might end up destroying themselves mentally over what happened (because, yeah, people are fragile). As for the ones who are incompetent or rude, or almost seem intentionally bad, maybe they really should be threatened with retraining or another round of medical school... but, man, the system is just broken across the board.

And that part I bolded... sure, there are plenty of people who respect doctors, but believe me, there are also tons who act incredibly unpleasant and totally disrespectful without any reason at all—they've probably never even heard of being humble...

Aaron Gonzalez4 said:Trying to justify surgical screw-ups by complaining about difficult patients is just incredibly pathetic.

Well, honestly—I didn't even see anyone making those kinds of excuses here...
I mean, messing up an operation and dealing with a difficult patient are two totally different things—even if you happen to be operating on a tough one, I guess.
😁

Anyway, I still feel like this thread shouldn't just be a one-sided vent session without hearing the other side of the story, maybe.