Just now (18 Nov. 2017) someone using WeChat asked me how old I am after asking some common questions about seeing the doctor. This is an interesting question. In terms of seeing a doctor, especially seeing a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) doctor, many people tend to think that an older age equates more experience, which again equates more mastery of clinical skills.
This makes me think of an article by American doctor Kent Sepkowitz: A Few Good Doctors: Don’t look for them on a magazine top-10 list. He does not mean this kind of list is totally useless; rather, he points out that people should not entirely rely on this sort of list to evaluate a physician. He said that, if the evaluation mechanism behind the list is inappropriate, the doctors in such a list could be a mixture of both good and bad ones. Moreover, unlike picking a restaurant or choosing a car, the doctor-patient relationship involves certain human aspects. Therefore, a recommended good doctor could be a thorn in another's flesh, and vice versa.
He gives advice on how to choose a doctor. First, trust your instincts. Second, choose an experienced surgeon instead of trusting your instincts, if surgery is necessary. Third, shop around. In a word, choose one that suits you and make a wise decision. Don’t let the magazine decide for you.
People who are interested can read the article here:
http://www.slate.com/…/medi…/2006/06/a_few_good_doctors.html
Also I recommend How doctors think by Dr. Jerome Groopman. It discusses how doctors should think, how to avoid misdiagnosis, and how to choose and evaluate doctors.
By the way, this also prompts me to relate it to the research on crowd psychology done by French author Gustave Le Bon. He claimed that an individual will tend to follow blindly within a crowd. Similarly, I think this also applies to the situation when people see the doctors. After all, human beings are not totally rational.
Just now someone using WeChat asked me how old I am after asking some common questions about seeing the doctor. This is an interesting question. In terms of seeing a doctor, especially seeing a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) doctor, many people tend to think that an older age equates more experience, which again equates more mastery of clinical skills.
This makes me think of an article by American doctor Kent Sepkowitz: A Few Good Doctors: Don’t look for them on a magazine top-10 list. He does not mean this kind of list is totally useless; rather, he points out that people should not entirely rely on this sort of list to evaluate a physician. He said that, if the evaluation mechanism behind the list is inappropriate, the doctors in such a list could be a mixture of both good and bad ones. Moreover, unlike picking a restaurant or choosing a car, the doctor-patient relationship involves certain human aspects. Therefore, a recommended good doctor could be a thorn in another's flesh, and vice versa.
He gives advice on how to choose a doctor. First, trust your instincts. Second, choose an experienced surgeon instead of trusting your instincts, if surgery is necessary. Third, shop around. In a word, choose one that suits you and make a wise decision. Don’t let the magazine decide for you.
People who are interested can read the article here:
http://www.slate.com/…/medi…/2006/06/a_few_good_doctors.html
Also I recommend How doctors think by Dr. Jerome Groopman. It discusses how doctors should think, how to avoid misdiagnosis, and how to choose and evaluate doctors.
By the way, this also prompts me to relate it to the research on crowd psychology done by French author Gustave Le Bon. He claimed that an individual will tend to follow blindly within a crowd. Similarly, I think this also applies to the situation when people see the doctors. After all, human beings are not totally rational.
