GIGO

People-Orientated Doctors

In The Passionless People Gordon McLauchlan paints a picture of a nation of doctor-worshippers, meekly accepting manna from the medical heaven. I've never subscribed to that notion. Perhaps it stems from growing up with a family doctor who was happy to draw pictures of the pleural cavity for an inquisitive 8-year-old. Certainly I've never been one not to ask questions.

It's probably seen me tagged as a "difficult" patient at times. One hospital surgeon made the mistake of telling me that the "good stuff" in my drip was killing off the "good bugs" in my "tummy" which was why I was ill after an appendix operation. I fixed him with a beady eye and remarked that I guess he meant that broad-spectrum antibiotics were upsetting my intestinal flora. (He should've known better -- he knew he was dealing with a 20-year-old who was studying zoology at the time.)

These days doctors seem to be much more prepared to deal with a patient on the patient's terms. I've just spent some time in hospital and have been pleasantly surprised by the readiness with which medical personnel have been willing to explain things. They also seem more ready to accept that a layperson may have some medical knowledge. Maybe the plethora of medical shows on TV has contributed to that!

Or perhaps the med schools are producing more people-oriented doctors -- has the increasing number of women doctors something to do with this? More likely it's a response to the commercial environment where people are no longer willing to put up with medical mystique when they're paying good money for information and treatment.

Sadly the flip-side to this is that people seem less willing to accept that there are some things which cannot be treated. The idea seems to be that you pay your money so you should be entitled to a magic potion to cure your ills immediately -- this despite the the fact that the bulk of maladies will disappear within a week, regardless of what is done.

I've always been impressed with my doctor's approach -- the advice accompanying most prescriptions is to wait a couple of days and see how things go. It's a rare occasion when I do have to front up to the chemist. One could argue that I've already had my cure in the mere visit to the doctor, so maybe they're miracle workers after all...

Vicki Hyde is the editor of New Zealand Science Monthly.