Posts by Kate Collins67

Angela Wright said:I’m well aware of all that. But who exactly designed these working conditions for you?
So don't sit there acting like you just landed from Mars, telling me how this reform is going to fix everything, especially once the bureaucratic nightmare of the European Union takes over. 🙏
And don't go thinking that things are any easier for me or anyone else in the private sector.

I'm under the gun 24 hours a day, and I'm expected to be available, polite, and perfectly composed every single second. So, what now?
Please, spare me the lecture about how you should have known being a doctor meant working shifts when you picked your major. It’s literally in the job description, for crying out loud. Why did you choose it? Was it because you love the work, or were you just trying to see how much punishment your body could take?
Look, if you can't hack it, stop torturing yourself and everyone else. Go find something else to do.

Look, I knew about shifts. What I didn't know was how they actually *function*—but then again, most of you don't know that either. I had no idea I'd be stuck doing eight shifts a month. And I certainly didn't expect to be running a general practice after 3 PM instead of handling emergency cases like my job description actually claims.

Besides, what did I really know back when I was eighteen? Not much, that's for sure...

Angela Wright said:Look, you’re living in a country where Medicare basically treats doctors like indentured servants. They micromanage every single move, and if a physician actually decides to prescribe medication based on their own medical expertise and conscience rather than some top-down directive from the bureaucrats, they get slapped with pay cuts. And don't even get me started on the administration—most of these people running the show haven't spent a single day working actual clinical practice. It's a joke. But hey, sure, keep telling yourself everything is fine.🙂
And here’s my take on the European Union...😁No comment.😁

The link leads to a tip I got over the phone right after the meeting. From what I gathered, they’ve agreed to move forward—unless the government, the county, or the local city council decides to throw a wrench in the works. Honestly, I haven't quite figured out which level of bureaucracy they decided to slash the funding at yet. It doesn't look like anything has been officially released to the public.

I’m honestly dying to know what the deal is here. Dr. Braš has launched this whole "stay with me" campaign, but let’s be real—they’ve been dragging their feet on building this hospice for decades. Sure, putting up a building is the easy part, but who on earth is actually going to staff it? If I recall correctly, Braš is planning to send the initial crew over to Canada for training.

That was written way too broadly. Sure, anyone can have a momentary lapse in judgment, but when that momentary lapse starts crashing headlong into professional ethics... sorry, there are no excuses. There has to be a line, and you need to get your head straight regarding where it sits. Of course, people are unpredictable, and everyone’s going to interpret things through their own warped lens, but my example about the hallway? That was crystal clear.

If the system doesn't fail me—and if it actually follows its usual, predictable patterns—this is how I see it playing out.
The hospice will finally open because the European Union is basically forcing our hand. They’ll move patients in, pay a specific group of nurses to work there, and then comes the truly creative part: some doctor will be "assigned" to cover it. Whether they're a GP or working at a major Medical Center, they'll get paid to oversee the hospice without actually being officially stationed there—except in extreme cases, obviously.

By doing it this way, you effectively camouflage several issues all at once: terminal elderly patients have a place to pass away, families are relieved because their loved ones are tucked away somewhere, and doctors stay happy because they don't have to deal with unsolvable problems in their clinics. It's a perfect little loop.
In reality? Patients will likely die with minimal care, far from the sight of their families, under what amounts to quasi-neglect.

So, there’s my optimistic take on the situation. But look, the important thing is just getting the wheels turning; eventually, things will settle into their natural, messy state.

Angela Wright said:Look, you’re living in a country where Medicare basically treats doctors like indentured servants. They micromanage every single move, and if a physician actually decides to prescribe medication based on their own medical expertise and conscience rather than some top-down directive from the bureaucrats, they get slapped with pay cuts. And don't even get me started on the administration—most of these people running the show haven't spent a single day working actual clinical practice. It's a joke. But hey, sure, keep telling yourself everything is fine.🙂
And here’s my take on the European Union...😁No comment.😁

The link leads to a tip I got over the phone right after the meeting. From what I gathered, they’ve agreed to move forward—unless the government, the county, or the local city council decides to throw a wrench in the works. Honestly, I haven't quite figured out which level of bureaucracy they decided to slash the funding at yet. It doesn't look like anything has been officially released to the public.

I’m honestly dying to know what the deal is here. Dr. Braš has launched this whole "stay with me" campaign, but let’s be real—they’ve been dragging their feet on building this hospice for decades. Sure, putting up a building is the easy part, but who on earth is actually going to staff it? If I recall correctly, Braš is planning to send the initial crew over to Canada for training.

That was written way too broadly. Sure, anyone can have a momentary lapse in judgment, but when that momentary lapse starts crashing headlong into professional ethics... sorry, there are no excuses. There has to be a line, and you need to get your head straight regarding where it sits. Of course, people are unpredictable, and everyone’s going to interpret things through their own warped lens, but my example about the hallway? That was crystal clear.

And honestly, this just goes to prove one of my main points: most people are just complete jerks. You see it all the time—doctors don't say a word when someone tries to mess with patient rights (well, at least not the majority of them), but just wait... just you try touching the one thing they actually care about: their own wallets. Now, I’m not saying they’re rolling in cash—not by a long shot—but under our current economic conditions, they make enough to live a decent life. They can earn a living from their hard work, and that's fine. But the second you threaten their personal finances? That's when the whining starts. Suddenly, everyone becomes an activist. It’s pathetic, really.

Angela Wright said:Look, you’re living in a country where Medicare basically treats doctors like indentured servants. They micromanage every single move, and if a physician actually decides to prescribe medication based on their own medical expertise and conscience rather than some top-down directive from the bureaucrats, they get slapped with pay cuts. And don't even get me started on the administration—most of these people running the show haven't spent a single day working actual clinical practice. It's a joke. But hey, sure, keep telling yourself everything is fine.🙂
And here’s my take on the European Union...😁No comment.😁

The link leads to a tip I got over the phone right after the meeting. From what I gathered, they’ve agreed to move forward—unless the government, the county, or the local city council decides to throw a wrench in the works. Honestly, I haven't quite figured out which level of bureaucracy they decided to slash the funding at yet. It doesn't look like anything has been officially released to the public.

I’m honestly dying to know what the deal is here. Dr. Braš has launched this whole "stay with me" campaign, but let’s be real—they’ve been dragging their feet on building this hospice for decades. Sure, putting up a building is the easy part, but who on earth is actually going to staff it? If I recall correctly, Braš is planning to send the initial crew over to Canada for training.

That was written way too broadly. Sure, anyone can have a momentary lapse in judgment, but when that momentary lapse starts crashing headlong into professional ethics... sorry, there are no excuses. There has to be a line, and you need to get your head straight regarding where it sits. Of course, people are unpredictable, and everyone’s going to interpret things through their own warped lens, but my example about the hallway? That was crystal clear.

Sure, you need to draw a line, but let’s be real—after being awake for 24 hours straight, I’m basically floating through space and those lines start to get pretty blurry.

The "crunch time" always seems to hit right when the workload becomes physically impossible—you know, when there's more on your plate than one single human being can handle without inevitably screwing something up.

Why don't we just pass a law mandating that every patient gets a full 20 to 30 minutes of undivided attention from the moment they walk through the door? Then we’ll see how "great" the communication becomes. Let's do the math: 30 minutes per person means 16 patients in an 8-hour shift. Sounds like a dream job, right? I just haven't figured out what to tell the other 30 or 40 people piling up outside the door—should I tell them to come back tomorrow, next year, or maybe in ten years once someone finally clears a spot at this glacial pace?
I am giving you the cold, hard, objective reasons why these messy situations happen. Don't get mad at me and act like this is some scenario I’m actually rooting for.

Let’s look at the numbers. Take a guaranteed half-hour lunch break—that leaves us with 15 patients. Factor in a 30-minute morning rounds and a 30-minute afternoon rounds—now we're down to 13. Add in at least one new emergency admission per day that requires about half an hour of immediate care... suddenly, we're looking at 12 patients. Honestly, twelve is a massive number under these conditions.

Angela Wright said:So you're actually claiming that most people are like that?! Well, isn't that just wonderful!😍

In that case, I’m actually looking forward to Milinović's reform with genuine excitement. Honestly, I can only hope it crushes you even harder than you already feel oppressed.👍

I can't stand incompetent doctors. I dealt with exactly that kind of garbage when my mom was battling glioblastoma. We didn't stick around with that hack; we jumped ship to a specialist who might not have had his flashy credentials, but she actually gave a damn. She did everything humanly possible for my mother—more than that first jerk ever would have—simply because she actually cared about her patient. That was easily the smartest move we ever made. Given the diagnosis, survival was pegged at three years and four months, and I owe that entire outcome to an oncology team that was actually prepared to handle palliative care. Because of her, my mom passed away peacefully without any physical suffering. If we had stayed with that first doctor, he would have just let her die like a dog within six months.
That’s exactly the difference between some arrogant "expert" who thinks they're God's gift to medicine and a doctor who actually gives a damn about doing their job.😳

Can you drop the link to that news story?

I’m not making any claims, I’m just stating exactly what I see happening.
Look, you can have the exact same doctor—one day they’re perfectly kind, totally normal, and patients absolutely love them—and then the next day, they just wake up on the wrong side of the bed, snap at a couple of patients, and suddenly—boom—their reputation is ruined. But let's be real here, look in the mirror for a second: have you ever, even once, acted unprofessionally while you were on the clock?

Angela Wright said:So you're actually claiming that most people are like that?! Well, isn't that just wonderful!😍

In that case, I’m actually looking forward to Milinović's reform with genuine excitement. Honestly, I can only hope it crushes you even harder than you already feel oppressed.👍

I can't stand incompetent doctors. I dealt with exactly that kind of garbage when my mom was battling glioblastoma. We didn't stick around with that hack; we jumped ship to a specialist who might not have had his flashy credentials, but she actually gave a damn. She did everything humanly possible for my mother—more than that first jerk ever would have—simply because she actually cared about her patient. That was easily the smartest move we ever made. Given the diagnosis, survival was pegged at three years and four months, and I owe that entire outcome to an oncology team that was actually prepared to handle palliative care. Because of her, my mom passed away peacefully without any physical suffering. If we had stayed with that first doctor, he would have just let her die like a dog within six months.
That’s exactly the difference between some arrogant "expert" who thinks they're God's gift to medicine and a doctor who actually gives a damn about doing their job.😳

Can you drop the link to that news story?

Look, Milinović’s hands are tied here—there's just no way around it. He can't exactly go in there and crack down on the doctors at the Medical Center because, let's be honest, if he tried to hold them accountable, those administrators would just move heaven and earth to protect their own jobs. It's all about job security for the higher-ups. And as we get closer to integrating more deeply with the European Union, this whole issue is going to become completely irrelevant. The suppression of actual accountability is going to trigger a massive brain drain, just like we've seen happening in so many other countries. So, when everyone walks out the door, who's left to take care of you? You're the ones who made this choice.🙂

Here’s the deal—I managed to get my hands on a link to this news via a phone tip right after the meeting wrapped up. It sounds like they’ve already reached an agreement on the funding cuts, though I haven't quite figured out which level of government they dropped the hammer on—was it the federal level, the state, or just local city officials? Honestly, it’s all a bit murky. Either way, nothing has been officially posted online yet, so consider this the inside track before the formal announcement hits the wires.

Jamie Rivera78 said:Clearly, you didn't actually read what I wrote. I’m not out here saying people should work for free—even though let's be real, there are plenty of folks in this country grinding away for nothing. What I actually said was that in the medical field, thank God, the paychecks actually show up on time. Is that really so hard to grasp? Most private doctors who aren't tied to government bureaucracy make a pretty damn good living.
Honestly, it feels totally ridiculous to act like certain jobs belong to some untouchable "elite." Since when did we start measuring status based on how many years you spent in school? Yeah, okay, med school is a grind and it takes forever, but everyone knows that before they even sign the papers. If someone can't hack it, they should’ve picked something else. Lawyers have to study constantly, professors are always hitting the books, and civil engineers aren't exactly sitting idle either.
The real issue here—the thing that actually matters—is how medical staff treats their patients. It drives me absolutely insane when I see that "looking down your nose" attitude, or when you get that vibe of, "Why should I explain this to you? You clearly don't get it." Look, sorry, but I actually care about what meds I'm taking and the specific chemicals they're planning to pump into my bloodstream. In my book, explaining a medical procedure isn't just an option; it's a fundamental job requirement, maybe even basic human decency. People using the healthcare system are paying a fortune for it, so they have every right to get a clear breakdown of their condition and what's coming next. My experience with private doctors has been mostly solid, but when it comes to doctors covered by Medicare, the quality is all over the place.
Bottom line: patients are BUYING healthcare services, and a customer has every right to demand service that matches what they're paying for. At the very least, if the equipment is outdated and crappy, they should make up for it with better communication. That's the only way the whole thing actually works.

But how exactly am I supposed to "inform" them? Should I use dense medical jargon? Or switch to layman's terms—which, let’s face it, usually strips the actual medical meaning right out of the conversation? Honestly, there are times when I just don't know how to explain something to a patient because even after I've tried five different ways to say it, they still look at me like I'm speaking Greek.
When you try to simplify complex medical issues just so a layperson can grasp them, you almost always end up distorting the reality of the disease. Then, what happens? Later, the patient repeats that simplified version to another doctor, which gets translated back into technical terms, and suddenly we're dealing with a totally skewed picture. This is exactly why we rely on medical records—they exist so we can interpret things based on hard facts, not filtered conversations.
Is it really our fault if patients aren't educated enough to understand the complexities of their own health? I mean, what can you do? It’s like when some imaginary friend from NASA tries to walk me through quantum physics; I just sit there nodding blankly, knowing full well I haven't understood a single word, no matter how much they try to "dumb it down."

Sarah Johnson11 said:suddenly there’s all the time and money in the world for consultations if the patient happens to be a mother, an aunt, or even just a colleague from a different department at the Medical Center. But for us regular, everyday people? We can't find the time OR the money—we're short on everything. Shouldn't we get the exact same treatment? Or am I supposed to just shut up and accept it when some doctor tells me I'm wrong about how unfair this is?🤷

Am I supposed to lie to you and say I care more about some stranger than my own people? Look, when you do a favor for a colleague for one of their patients, you expect a favor in return when one of your own is in trouble—I don't see what's so shocking about that. Isn't it just how things work? Within any system, colleagues look out for each other and jump the line... or am I living in some alternate reality here?

Alright, here’s a bit of good news for everyone—maybe we can finally put our weapons down for a second and just breathe.

If my info is right, the very first official hospice in Split is actually about to open its doors.

Jamie Rivera78 said:... Look, at the end of the day, a patient is a consumer of healthcare services. They’ve paid a massive amount of money for it, so why shouldn't they expect to be treated with basic human decency? ... Isn't it just common sense that a salesperson is polite to their customers? If they aren't, they don't make any sales. And when you're talking about selling medical care, the stakes are way higher.

Just introduce private healthcare and suddenly those standards will meet expectations overnight. Or, you could try actually fixing this broken system we have now—which, let's be honest, is a much harder mountain to climb.
Implementing performance-based pay across all sectors is a massive incentive for actual quality work; everything else is just noise...

Angela Wright said:Just a mountain of excuses.😳
Everyone’s at fault here—except, apparently, the doctors who are just "poor victims" and always right.☕ That’s exactly why Milinović keeps stepping on you guys. Just wait until these new reform regulations actually start rolling out.🥳 We were there at the presentation. Believe me, I'm telling you true.🤣

If you aren't ready to deal with all the injustices and unfairness this profession drags along with it, then don't get into it. It really is that simple.

...Look, if a person is just a total jerk, I don't care how much expertise they offer—I'm not interested. I wouldn't even let someone like that perform a telepathic exam on me.😳

There is absolutely no excuse for what happened in the hallway. You can grab onto any argument in the world to try and justify it, but none of them are good enough. Other doctors are facing the exact same situations, yet they don't act like this.

Personally, I’m actually looking forward to the reform. Change is usually a good thing because it shakes up those untouchable positions for a bit—making the system more flexible before someone else comes along to cement their power again.

Honestly? If I had been some clairvoyant version of Milan and knew what was coming my way, I wouldn't be in this profession. But hey, like I said, I am where I am—you can't exactly crawl out of your own skin, can you?

You can talk all you want, but even a complete loser finds themselves useful when they're the only ones who can save someone's neck (philosophy versus reality, huh...)?

I'm not "clinging" to arguments; I'm just stating the facts, whether they're easy to swallow or not. I see things for what they are. And how would you know that other doctors don't do these things? I can tell you from firsthand experience: it happens way more often than people care to admit.

borna07 said:I’ve really been trying to make sense of you up until this point—truly, I have—but this? This is just total garbage.
Look, I’m asking you—please—for the sake of your own future (and let's be honest, you still have quite a few working years left on your clock) and for the survival of the entire healthcare system that you are a vital part of: just realize one thing. We need to start talking about this—really talking about it—because it feels like we’ve completely lost the plot in modern medicine. You don't just treat a diagnosis; you treat a human being. It’s that simple, right? Or at least, it should be. But what do we see happening at places like the Mayo Clinic or even just your local medical center? They look at a lab report, they see a number that's slightly out of range, and suddenly you aren't a person anymore—you're just a "case." You're a collection of symptoms to be managed, a checklist to be completed. Where did the actual care go? Where did the empathy vanish to? It’s infuriating. We have all this incredible technology—we can practically send people to Mars—yet we struggle to remember that there is a living, breathing person sitting on that exam table. A person who is scared, who is hurting, and who has a life outside of their blood pressure readings. When doctors focus solely on the pathology and ignore the individual, they aren't practicing medicine; they're just performing maintenance on a machine. If you only fix the biological glitch without looking at the person experiencing it, have you actually healed anything? I don't think so. We need to get back to basics. We need to treat the patient, not just the disease. It sounds obvious, doesn't it? So why does it feel like such a radical concept lately?
Look, if a patient is actually going to get better, they need to have a clear understanding of what they’re fighting and exactly how the treatment plan is going to work. It shouldn't be some guessing game. And let's be real here—that is YOUR job. It is your responsibility to guide YOUR patients through that process. Period.

Look, let’s get one thing straight—whether we're talking about my patients or yours, you're already making that distinction between "my people" and "your people," even though everyone should have equal rights to care. If everyone is being treated according to professional medical standards, there shouldn't be any "mine" or "yours." It shouldn't matter at what stage of treatment I encounter a person; I should just be picking up exactly where the previous doctor left off. But honestly? To actually pull that off, you'd need a massive amount of specialized knowledge, much higher quality medical schools, and a level of top-down organization that our current system just isn't providing.

So, you’re out here preaching that "we treat the patient, not just the disease"? That sounds great on a bumper sticker, really, but let me ask you something—are you actually treating healthy people now too? Because if we're following your logic, what exactly am I supposed to be doing? Am I expected to step in and fix my patients' social struggles? Should I be playing social worker or calling up agencies to handle their living situations? Or maybe I should be acting as an unlicensed therapist and calling in a psychologist to deal with their mental health issues? No. Absolutely not. My job is to treat the actual illness within the patient. For everything else—the social stuff, the psychological stuff, all those other layers—there are plenty of other trained professionals who do that job way better than I ever could, and frankly, I have zero intention of stepping out of my lane and getting tangled up in it.

Look, there are tons of patients out there who have been given incredibly clear, thorough explanations about exactly what’s wrong with them and precisely what steps they need to take to actually get better. But here's the kicker—most of them don't follow a single word of it. It makes you wonder, doesn't it? If we're being honest and looking at the big picture, why are we even wasting our breath? Why spend all this energy on these exhaustive, deep-dive explanations when they just fall on deaf ears? It feels like a total waste of time to go through the whole "educational" process if people aren't going to actually do the work.
It really just depends on the situation—who I’m even talking to, honestly. Some people just aren't worth the breath, you know? So, I guess it comes down to who I’ll actually bother trying to explain things to and, more importantly, who I won't.

Sarah Johnson11 said:...
Let’s be real—"lack of time" is such a convenient excuse, isn't it? It’s never actually about the clock; it’s about who you know. If you happen to be the mother, an aunt, or some colleague’s relative from a different department, suddenly there’s plenty of time. Suddenly, the money isn't an issue, and those specialist consultations appear out of thin air. But for us? For the regular, everyday Americans just trying to get by? We’re told there’s a shortage of everything—time, money, availability—you name it. We’re constantly hitting walls. We should be getting the exact same level of care and attention as anyone else, shouldn't we? So, tell me, doctor... am I wrong here?🤷

Look, I can't even argue with you—you're not wrong. But let’s be real for a second: in the actual world, every single one of us has bad days. We all have them. And we all know exactly how we operate when we're running on empty. The real issue here—and I see this constantly—is that people seem to expect us to be these flawless, enlightened beings. They want us to be some kind of superhuman entity without a single crack in the armor, preferably gifted with supernatural powers. Apparently, the expectation is that after working a grueling 24-hour shift on zero sleep, I should just have a patient grab my sleeve in the hallway and suddenly emit this massive, radiant smile powered by cosmic energy that somehow eliminates my biological need for rest... Is that really what people think happens? Does anyone actually believe that?

Jamie Rivera78 said:Clearly, you didn't actually read what I wrote. I’m not out here saying people should work for free—even though let's be real, there are plenty of folks in this country grinding away for nothing. What I actually said was that in the medical field, thank God, the paychecks actually show up on time. Is that really so hard to grasp? Most private doctors who aren't tied to government bureaucracy make a pretty damn good living.
Honestly, it feels totally ridiculous to act like certain jobs belong to some untouchable "elite." Since when did we start measuring status based on how many years you spent in school? Yeah, okay, med school is a grind and it takes forever, but everyone knows that before they even sign the papers. If someone can't hack it, they should’ve picked something else. Lawyers have to study constantly, professors are always hitting the books, and civil engineers aren't exactly sitting idle either.
The real issue here—the thing that actually matters—is how medical staff treats their patients. It drives me absolutely insane when I see that "looking down your nose" attitude, or when you get that vibe of, "Why should I explain this to you? You clearly don't get it." Look, sorry, but I actually care about what meds I'm taking and the specific chemicals they're planning to pump into my bloodstream. In my book, explaining a medical procedure isn't just an option; it's a fundamental job requirement, maybe even basic human decency. People using the healthcare system are paying a fortune for it, so they have every right to get a clear breakdown of their condition and what's coming next. My experience with private doctors has been mostly solid, but when it comes to doctors covered by Medicare, the quality is all over the place.
Bottom line: patients are BUYING healthcare services, and a customer has every right to demand service that matches what they're paying for. At the very least, if the equipment is outdated and crappy, they should make up for it with better communication. That's the only way the whole thing actually works.

That bolded part always cracks me up.
An American smoker spends more on cigarettes throughout their lifetime than they ever will on their own healthcare, and then they have the nerve to complain once the smoking-related issues finally come due.

As for the communication aspect... honestly, there's a lot to be said there. There are some fair points being made, but look—no matter how much people try to deny it—medicine is ultimately just a job. You have people working there who have all sorts of different personalities and manners, right? Just like any other profession, communication is going to be hit-or-miss with certain individuals. If we suddenly started hand-picking only the "perfect" communicators to work in hospitals, well, let's just say you'd be looking at waiting lists of five to ten years.

jadesailor14 said:You just can't
because different rules apply to you; basically, the rules fly out the window once you become a patient.
Still, you're a "colleague" with friends and connections inside the system, whereas I'm just some random person, jadesailor14.

4. So, catching people in the hallways is irritating? Don't parents deserve a quick chat and an explanation about what happened to their child? We're talking about being too busy for three months, not just three hours.
They couldn't find any time in three whole months? That honestly feels like just pretending to be busy and acting untouchable.
It’s funny how some doctors always manage to find the time.

I absolutely can, because I spent way too much time being a patient before I entered the medical field—and unlike you, I didn't have anyone on the inside helping me out.

Look, it irritates me. Do you really want me to lie to your face and tell you this situation is "charming"?
It's hard to even argue about this—does someone actually know the diagnosis or not? Because if a diagnosis exists, it’s documented somewhere: a discharge summary, an outpatient report, a medical history, something! If there is no diagnosis, then there's nothing to talk about. I don't know the specifics of the case, I don't have the details, so it's impossible for me to offer any meaningful insight.

jadesailor14 said:If you're going to throw a question like that directly at someone, you really ought to try and learn a little bit about who they actually are first.
No way—I would never "leave" my parents anywhere, but honestly, that is none of your business!
Besides, you can't just drop people off at a hospital and expect them to stay there for months under someone else's watch.

You're actually more embedded in the system than most of the medical staff, but I guess some people just struggle to accept that.

Sure, you can't leave them for months—but you could certainly leave them for days. Say, when you're heading off on summer vacation? And then you could do that for a few days every two or three months, or whatever. There are all sorts of ways to work it out, really... anything is possible if you plan it right.

Angela Wright said:🙄

Oh, I will achieve something, especially now, just out of pure spite for you and everyone else who refuses to budge.😳
Actually, we are very close to making communication studies a mandatory colloquium alongside subjects like ethics—and you won't get far in medical school without passing it.

How could I not be involved in the system? I am a patient; I am part of that system. The thing is, I'm looking at the situation from a different angle, but I've also taken it upon myself to study things from a professional perspective. That's usually what doctors do once they become patients themselves.
And you know what? I realize you guys are totally checked out, that you're miserable, and that the burden of that falls squarely on the patient's shoulders.
But that doesn't justify a lack of humanity—the inability to explain to a person what the problem is, who failed them, and what needs to happen next. And no, I don't think you're an animal for how you handled that hematology patient. What strikes me is your utter incompetence in communicating with the person. Why didn't you report that incompetent colleague? There is Medicare to oversee those kinds of failures.

Let me give you an example of a total communication breakdown experienced by the parents of a child with a malignant illness. They told me about it in the nursery. For three months, these parents couldn't get a straight answer regarding their child's diagnosis. They couldn't catch the doctor, couldn't talk to her, and couldn't schedule consultations during her working hours or whenever she felt like it. One day, they were practically pleading in the hospital hallway when she came by, and she snapped at them: "Why are you cornering me in the hallway? I don't have time to deal with this with you; I'm busy treating children who actually *can* be cured!"
In your eyes, is that a normal reaction from a pediatric oncologist? Is that how you're supposed to tell parents, after three months of zero communication, that their child is dying and there's no hope?
By Sharia law, that deserves stoning.😳
A dysfunctional system is no excuse for such disgusting behavior. Sorry, but if you don't have the temperament for this, lady, go grow tomatoes in the backyard and work on your nerves. Everyone knows how grueling a doctor's life is and how much it demands of you.

1. You won't achieve much by introducing communication studies—and not because of the subject itself, but because of the system again. Take Emergency Medicine, for instance; I don't even know if it's still taught or what they call it now. Basically, subjects directly tied to the job are prioritized over ethics, communication, ecology, epidemiology, and all those other "filler subjects." And that core subject was such a joke (if I recall correctly) that most people passing it couldn't actually provide basic first aid... and keep in mind, we're talking about future doctors here. Go back to the first page and look at that point regarding the poor quality of medical school.

2. Everyone views a situation from their own perspective—that's just human nature—but I can see it from both sides because I've been a patient and I'll be one again, and on top of that, I'm a doctor. Most of you only have the luxury of seeing things from one single angle, and when it comes to explaining why we sometimes act the way we do to someone outside the profession, it's almost impossible.

3. The person involved knows exactly what happened, but as for why they weren't admitted to the Mayo Clinic, only the person who turned them away knows that. If I were to report them, I'd have to be right there to witness exactly what went down, and even if I did, getting personally involved in someone else's mess isn't my thing—mostly because, legally speaking, I can only...

4. Cornering a doctor in the hallways is incredibly irritating for us. I honestly don't know what to say to that comment. All I can say is that if there's a designated time for consultations, that's when you should show up. Then again, from my experience in practice, even during consultation hours, they're often too busy actually working, leading to that vicious cycle of having too many patients and not enough doctors.

Jacob Fox6 said:That’s exactly why it shouldn't be left up to any single person to decide. Like, is the life of some kid—who, let's be real, might end up being a criminal one day—actually worth more than the life of your mother, who's in that older age bracket? Age isn't an absolute metric for anything, really, and it shouldn't be a criterion for anything else either. Personally, I think the rules are fair because I dealt with those exact dilemmas a long time ago... At the end of the day, every life is just a life and nothing more, and there's no such thing as a life being more or less valuable once you're talking about survival...

I think I already covered the rest of my thoughts in my last post...🙂

I mean, it really depends on how you look at it—the way laws actually get passed around here basically boils down to one single person at the top pulling all the strings on the important stuff.
Sure, technically it isn't just one person sitting in the executive branch making every move, but let's be real: it's still just one person hiding behind that fancy title of "legislator."

Fair enough if that's how you see it—really, I respect the perspective—but don't take it personally when I say that even that "ideal" could vanish completely at some point in your life. Maybe you aren't the type to feel the need to protect yourself so fiercely, but honestly? The real question is what you’re going to have to say when it’s your own kids on the line.