Doctor stories: What are your experiences with diagnoses?

nimblestag31 said:Angela Bailey30:
it’s about this constant bashing of doctors, which I haven't noticed happening to any other profession.

But why specifically doctors? Do you honestly think people just enjoy tearing down the very people they rely on to stay alive? You think they do it because they're all inherently terrible, arrogant, or malicious? Common sense suggests otherwise: people lash out because they’ve had terrible experiences with them during some of the worst moments of their lives. That’s a simple explanation, unlike your posts that make it seem like there's some massive conspiracy against the medical community. In reality, it's quite the opposite—people are generally more deferential to doctors than any other profession, which makes total sense. They’re venting here because they can, and because they're frustrated with those interactions. Do you think anyone in my family would have stayed quiet if a doctor had permanently damaged my father's vision? Or if a contractor built us a house that leaks every time it rains? They'd certainly have something to say. So, that's the reality of how people view doctors versus "everyone else."

Benjamin Murphy2 said:Honestly, I had no clue what I was signing up for when I enrolled in med school. Nobody really does, and frankly, nobody can predict it. If I’d realized back then that I’d be spending significantly less time with my family than if I’d just gone into law or linguistics, I might have thought twice about the whole thing.

And once you figured that out, why didn't you just switch majors? It’s hard to wrap my head around the idea that it took five or six years to realize that. Look, I studied linguistics, and I know firsthand how grueling translation work can be—especially simultaneous interpretation in a booth. It carries an immense amount of responsibility, too. When there are multi-day conferences, you spend almost all your time working rather than being at home. But even then, it doesn't compare to the life of a doctor.

It feels like everyone is getting dragged lately—not that anyone is exempt from criticism except us, apparently... but please, tell me when you last saw a news report or some prime-time segment where they were tearing apart translators, lawyers, the military, retail workers, or economists, just to name a few.
Sorry, but honestly, I haven't seen anyone else taking center stage in a while.

Look, work is hard for everyone, period. But fighting for a human life and then making a mistake? Can you even imagine what that person goes through? Personally, I’d rather end it all than ruin someone's life—even if it was unintentional—and once I finally wrap up my degree, I’ll probably spend every single day terrified that my own negligence might mess things up for someone else.
Take that specialist, for instance—the one involved with that Kaiser Permanente situation we discussed... you have to learn somewhere, and it’s truly tragic that such a fatal error occurred. You think he doesn't care? I wouldn't just be worried about losing my license or my right to practice; I'd be stuck living with the knowledge that I ruined a life.

Yeah, and what kind of official explanation did the hospital actually release?

It feels like everyone’s just out for blood lately—tearing into the legal system (and trust me, I’ve got plenty to say about that), social services, the local property registry (which they’re finally trying to fix, by the way), and even Bloomberg... I mean, seeing one doctor pull in that kind of monthly salary (at least according to what hits the news) isn't exactly great, but it sure gets people riled up.
But honestly? People are most sensitive when it comes to healthcare. Why? Because of everything I just listed over these four pages (+ a few other topics too).

Look, when you’re standing in line at a Chase branch for thirty minutes or more, you might find yourself snapping at the teller just because you can. You know she can’t actually do anything to hurt you; she’s just stuck there with a smile on her face, forced to listen to your venting and basically thank you for coming back. But have you ever stopped to think about how she feels? To her, you’re just one more person in a long line of $33 customers who could have easily used an ATM or just paid their electric bill online.
Yet, when you’re sitting in a waiting room for hours waiting for a doctor to see you—even if you had an appointment!—everyone acts like it’s perfectly fine and stays patient. But the second that patience runs dry and people absolutely lose their minds, screaming at anyone wearing scrubs, suddenly those medical professionals are labeled as "arrogant" and "rude."

Honestly, if technology keeps advancing toward replacing people with robots, we won't even have a choice—they’ll just move on without a second thought. And when an error inevitably occurs? They'll just toss the whole thing into the trash and keep going. It's frustrating. I feel like once I finish my work, I'll be looking for any possible flaw to point out, yet they'll remain perfectly happy and satisfied regardless of what you do. It’s just wonderful. 😬

Seriously, you haven't even proven a thing yet 😢

Angela Bailey30 said:So once you figured it out, why didn't you just switch majors? I honestly can't believe it took you five or six years to realize certain things. Look, I studied linguistics, so I know firsthand how brutal translation work can be—especially simultaneous interpreting in the booth. It’s high-stakes, exhausting, and when you're dealing with those multi-day conferences, the hours are insane. You barely see your own house. It's basically on par with being a doctor.

Do you seriously think I could have just "realized" all that while I was still in school? It’s a bit late for a mid-life career pivot now... I'm in my mid-thirties, and you don't just swap out your credentials at this stage. I make it work, I guess. It's just... sometimes, when I'm stuck at the office from Monday morning until Tuesday dawn, I can't help but wonder if I could've done something else with my life...

So, I'm unproven? Great! 😉 It doesn't really bother me—besides, there's plenty of time left for me to "prove" myself

Noah Vaughn3 I can't even begin to tell you how much this whole situation is driving me up the wall... honestly, I've been sitting here staring at my screen just fuming because people seriously don't get it... they just don't get it at all...
Man, if technology actually hits that point where they start swapping out real people for robots... we’re basically screwed. We won't even have a choice in the matter, and honestly, I don't care what anyone has to say about it. It'll be like, oh, a glitch happened? Just toss the whole thing in the trash and move on to the next one... screw that. Everything feels so messed up lately. It makes me feel like once I finally wrap up my work, if I can somehow track down a pathology report or find some proof of what went wrong, they'll just brush me off. No matter what you do for them, they're just happy and satisfied with their little machines... it’s absolutely ridiculous... 😬

I honestly cannot believe those are actually the words coming out of a future doctor's mouth... it's absolutely terrifying!👎

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...

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?

I’m actually mortified—I am never, ever doing that again, I swear!

😬 Honestly... you can't even crack a joke or be a little sarcastic anymore without people taking it personally. Believe me, I wasn't even being myself 😬
God, what has the world come to?

nimblestag31 said:hm yeah, how does a future doctor even dare to be sarcastic

To me sounds a little morbid, honestly...

And wait, since when is a patient supposed to be subservient to their doctor 😲
,like seriously, why on earth would that be? 😕

Look, I get it, patients should be polite and show some respect, but subservient????

feralorca2 said:That sounds a little morbid to me...

Wait, since when is a patient supposed to be humble toward their doctor? 😲
,why on earth would they need to be? 😕

It’s fine if a patient is polite and respectful, but humble????

I'm curious too. Let's hear the explanation!

Neither nimblestag31 nor I ever said (personally, I think you just need to be decent—though that seems to be in short supply lately, on both sides, from doctors to patients) that boldsailor52 feels that way. If that’s your take, fine by me. Whether you choose to be humble, respectful, or just plain rude...
it makes no difference to me.
If I actually manage to finish my degree, my goal isn't to win any popularity contests or build deep friendships with you all; it's to help people, period. If some connection happens along the way, well, maybe that's just how it goes.
And please, don't try to pull the "you have no empathy" card on me. I do have it—I just don't intend to sit here and weep with you. That isn't what this job is about. If we all broke down every time we heard news of someone passing away or facing a serious illness, we'd be making mistakes far more often than we do now.
The best thing you can do for us is show some patience and basic courtesy. I truly believe that if everyone practiced a little more decency, even some of the physicians would turn out differently—more professional, more grounded. div>

I’ve honestly started to feel like being humble actually makes a massive difference in how people treat you.🍿

nimblestag31 said:sure, there are definitely folks out there who respect their doctors, but man, believe me, there are tons of people who act incredibly rude and disrespectful for absolutely no reason at all, and I bet they haven't even heard the word "humility" in their entire lives...

She mentioned it, sure—but she didn't exactly lay down the law on how one ought to behave, so...

Noah Vaughn3 said:She mentioned it, sure, but she didn't explicitly say that's how you're supposed to act, so...

Unbelievable. If she mentions that some people have "never heard of humility," she’s clearly implying they ought to be more humble. Honestly, what's the point of having an Ivy League degree if you can't read between the lines?👎

Humility? Give me a break. I honestly like to think—maybe I’m just being optimistic here—that it was a slip of the tongue... and they actually meant respect.