“I gave up my life...to learn how to save yours.”
Never has this saying been truer than today.
Doctors bring healing, comfort, and well-being to both body and spirit. As miracle workers, heroes and family rolled into one, they’re supposed to be some of the noblest souls around.
But, why is it that going to the doctor almost feels like being sent to the principal’s office? Filipinos dread coming in for a check-up, with many experiencing instant “healing” as soon as whispers of going to the doctor enter the picture. They’d rather endure any pain than go to the guy with a stethoscope.
People are afraid of doctors. That first whiff of cold air emanating from the clinic sends chills down many patients’ spines.
Why is this?
4 Reasons Why People Hate Talking To Doctors
They remind us that things are not okay.
You don’t see a doctor on a good day. Each time you meet one, it’s always because something is out of sorts with you or your loved ones.
(Doctors and lawyers are the same. They are wonderfully helpful people. You just hope that you don’t need one.)
Doctors get a bad rap because they have been emotionally associated with ailment, disease, even death. They remind us of bitter pills, risky operations, and painful medical procedures. All these are front and center at the clinic.
Coming in for a consultation means you are admitting to some sense of helplessness, and, possibly, some bad news.
We feel like they’re judging us.
Not only are folks at their most vulnerable, but patients also feel critically judged around doctors.
Doctors are often strangers to us. And these strangers, who know more about the topic, feel like they’re out to get us—revealing, for example, that we don’t have the healthiest of diets, or that 1995 was the last time we stepped inside a gym.
(This is also partly why people brush their teeth a little harder the morning of a dentist appointment. Nobody wants to be critically judged by a stranger whose credentials are plastered all over the walls.)
Imagine showing this stranger some skin irritation on that part of your body where the sun doesn’t shine.
We already know what they’re going to say.
Somehow, patients already know how the interaction will go. They can already hear the admonitions from the medical professional, and they don’t like it:
“You need less salt in your diet.”
“Stop drinking and smoking.”
“Exercise for 20 minutes at least 3x a week.”
They’ve heard the same chorus from their spouses, and hearing it from the mouth of a medical professional would lend legitimacy to that which they don’t want to do. They know they probably won’t have the discipline to follow through with these commitments. Otherwise, they would have started the practice a long time ago.
They cost money.
People shun doctors because they are relatively expensive.
For all the reasons already listed—the hassle of braving the traffic, waiting for hours on end in a room with the other sick folks, feeling antsy and vulnerable, only to be judged on your eating habits—at the end of the day, you’re going to have to pay for the pleasure of all this.
A few minutes inside the inner chambers and you find yourself a few hundred (or thousand) bucks lighter.
This does not even include the cost of medicines you are to take for the next 2 weeks...or maintain for life.
A Healthier Mindset
All these fears are valid. You can hang on to all these hang-ups. But then they’re not going to help make anyone better.
A change in mindset is needed to ensure that you make the most out of every doctor visit. Here are some things you need to keep in mind:
#1 Doctors are on your side.
You’ve heard this many times before, but it bears repeating. Doctors are not out to get you. They’re not trying to figure out how many times you’ve cheated on your diet or exercise.
There are many different kinds of doctors, there are different sorts and types, but most of them are just trying to make the world a better place.
They’re trying to help. Just because they’re earning from the practice doesn’t negate that. Doctors won’t put up with the rigors of medical school if they don’t think helping others is their “calling.”
They’ve pursued the job, and it’s not because they want to be the bearer of bad news nor play villain to the sick.
#2 Yes, they’ve seen it before!
Embarrassed as you are with the whole thing, chances are, your physician has dealt with it before. Yours might be just one of the many similar cases he’s going to be dealing with that day.
No matter how “unique” you think your ailment is, your physician has most probably seen worse cases.
No, you won’t be laughed at or ridiculed out of the clinic.
(It is actually to your doctor’s advantage to deal with cases matter of factly. Registering surprise, laughing, or being flustered will only mean inexperience or lack of knowledge on his part.)
#3 At the end of the day, it is your body.
Health professionals are there to give advice and point to medicines that might help. But at the end of the day, it is up to you to follow through. Just as nobody forced you to come to the clinic, you won’t be forced to stick to any treatment or regimen.
We call it “Doctor’s orders,” but they’re not “orders” in the absolute sense of the word. The hope is that you’ll come out of the consultation with more information than you came in, and based on that, be in a much better position to ultimately decide for yourself.
5 Tips When Talking To Your Doctor
Here are some best practices that you could observe to make the most out of every doctor visit.
1) Write down your questions beforehand.
Imagine you are inside the clinic or hospital. What things would you like to ask your doctor? What things would you like to know?
Do not take this one lightly. Take a piece of paper and start writing. This is very, very important. You only have a few minutes with your physician.
Let’s say you’re coming in for those increasingly frequent migraines. You might want to ask questions like:
What usually causes these things?
Can the stresses at work and home be the culprit?
Besides meds, what other things can I do once the pain starts?
Is it true that water can help?
Does this thing run in families? My mom frequently has them.
Can they be a sign of something else entirely different?
Writing all this stuff down isn’t overkill. You can easily miss something critical during the consultation and only remember it on the drive back.
Besides, having lots of questions will enrich your interactions with your physician. So seek clarity about your anxieties and fears. Having a live MD talking to you, answering your questions, is so much better than spending hours online and scaring yourself in the process.
2) Prepare what you’re going to say.
You can’t imagine the number of patients who space out when talking to their physicians. They’ve sat in the waiting room for a good number of minutes, maybe even hours, you’d think they’ll be able to muster more than two full sentences.
“I don’t feel well” doesn’t help much.
Doc is going to be looking and asking for symptoms. So just as you’ve prepared questions, you also need to be ready to present your symptoms.
Share liberally and be highly descriptive. For example, when talking about that pain in your leg, inform the doctor which is it exactly. Is it throbbing, shooting, scalding? Is the muscle tender, knotted, or stiff?
Give your doctor as much as you can to work with. (More on this in a minute.)
3) Do not diagnose yourself.
Do not downplay or exaggerate your symptoms.
To prescribe appropriate treatment, doctors need to diagnose the situation correctly. You don’t help your cause by downplaying what you feel. The disease could already be in the advanced stages and need urgent care.
On the other hand, exaggerating symptoms would needlessly alarm your physician and loved ones, and risk the wrong treatment.
Don’t get ahead of the conversation by leading your doctor one way or another.
4) Be specific.
Don’t skimp on the details when narrating your condition.
While you’re not expected to be hyper-precise, get into the specifics as much you can. Talk about things like:
Timeline: Lay down the sequence of events. How long has this thing been bothering you? When did it start? What happened on Monday? Then what happened three days after that?
Activities: Are you sleeping well? Are you active? How long were you under the sun? What stresses you the most these days?
Parts of the body: Is the pain localized on the fingertips, or is it the whole arm? Can you raise your arm?
Nutrition: Have you been eating well? Do you still have your appetite? What are you usually eating?
Size: How big was the bump? Did it grow? How fast?
Temperature: Did you feel hot or cold? Was your temp erratic? What times of the day were worse?
Color/Texture/Volume/Intensity: What is the color and consistency of the sputum? Did your arm turn red, white, purple? How much blood did you cough? How hard did you hit your head?
Treatments received: What medicines did you take? Did you use a hot/cold compress? Did you have the area massaged?
Results of treatment: Did the medicine help? Did the symptoms go away after taking it? Were you able to sleep? Did the pain subside?
Again, you’re not expected to be able to answer in the minutest detail, but be as precise as you can.
This yet again highlights the importance of preparing for check-ups so you accurately describe your experience.
5) Follow through.
Going to the doctors, listening, but not doing anything about it, is the same as not going at all. The only difference is that you’ve wasted time, money, and effort with the former.
You are there to get a learned medical opinion. It is not your job to say, “It’s really no big deal doc, I got this. My wife forced me here!”
Come with an open mind and listen to your doctor’s opinion and advice. Listen closely. Don’t just respectfully nod along while at the back of your head you’re thinking, “I’m never gonna stick to that diet anyway.”
Remember that he’s on your side. So look to collaborate.
Sure, you will have some idea of what ails your own body. You can tell him what you think and have a productive dialogue. But you need to listen first. The good doctor is telling you something important.
Whatever has been said, give it a real shot. Try to do it. Who knows, it might not be that bad. And chances are, if you listen and follow through, you just might not be returning to that clinic any time soon.
BloodWorks Lab is your one-stop shop for all your blood test needs. As the country’s premier medical laboratory, we also offer different screening and immunological tests.
BloodWorks Lab is also proud to be the first laboratory in the Philippines to offer the Anti Acetylcholine Receptor (lgG) Antibody Test and the Anti N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor (Anti NMDA Receptor) Antibody Test.
These assessments are tools to help your doctor diagnose medical conditions. Your doctor needs accurate information to give sound medical advice. We provide that data so patients and physicians can collaborate on the best course of action.
Come give us a visit. Our branches are in Alabang, Katipunan, and Cebu.