Why are most doctors cold and unempathetic?

[Anonymous]

The majority of the doctors I’ve had for my chronic pain, brushed me off or were condescending to me... It feels like they don’t see me as a human being almost and like I’m exaggerating my pain. They are cold and have this weird air of superiority.

Some of them just made it seem like I was just another customer instead of someone who needed Healthcare. Others I felt like were shuffling me off to other doctors and specialists so that they can get paid as well. They are also dismissive if you bring up a concern or a different perspective. Medical gaslighting (blaming your symptoms on anxiety/depression) is very common, especially if you're a woman.

Oh and although most people see them as gods that know everything and never make mistakes, misdiagnoses happen more often than you think.

[DownInTheDumps]

Try having a doctor who sits there and ask you what your medical issue is and you being the patient has to sit there and explain to the doctor who went to uni and got a degree what exactly your medical issue is.

I also had doctors dismiss me and my concerns when I was pregnant. One doctor didn't seem to care when I told him I hadn't felt my baby move at all. The entire time during my pregnancy I was struggling a lot mentally and the doctors dismissed it as pregnancy hormones but it was more than pregnancy hormones it was actually depression that has now turned into postnatal depression

My iron levels and haemoglobin levels were low and not one doctor despite telling me I needed iron infusions bothered to organise this for me and it resulted in my losing over a litre of blood when I gave birth and me needing to have blood transfusions and iron infusions and me also being stuck in bed for 2 days and me not being able to really care for my baby much

Some doctors really need to be fired. Yes they may be overworked and understaffed but dismissing patients concerns and symptoms has been happening long before covid was around and it's time doctors stop doing this.

[Asker]

I'm really sorry that this happened to you. I think some doctors should be sued for malpractice.
Just because they went to medical school, doesn't mean they know your body better than you.. They should listen to their patients' concerns and thoroughly investigate their symptoms.
How many lives have been lost due to their negligence?

[DownInTheDumps]

The doctor who dismissed my concerns when I said I hadn't felt my baby move, he was also the same doctor who the midwife from the maternity ward called as I had a bit of a concerning issue to her and he walked into the room saying to me what's your problem in a frustrating voice. It was like what the heck is your problem. I didn't call you the midwife did as she is the one who saw my issue that I was having as concerning. That same doctor also discharged me without confirming if I needed another blood transfusion or not as they were talking about me needing a 3rd transfusion as my haemoglobin levels were still quite low and under 100

I'm just thankful when I gave birth I didn't have any of the doctors who I was seeing during my appointments instead I had another doctor who was very caring. He was one of 4 doctors I have ever met who really don't dismiss their patients. He also had a way of making you smile and laugh through your pain when you are trying to push your baby out. He is definitely one doctor you Want to have if you are ever having a baby

[chicken_nugget24]

Where I live, we have free healthcare and they doctors are overwhelmed. They have a back log from before covid, are understaffed and overworked. They have just been on strike where I live and I don't blame them

[Asker]

Ok, I understand that doctors and health care providers are people too, and have their owns set of problems to deal with but they shouldn't take it out on their patients

[DownInTheDumps]

They can't really blame covid because doctors have been brushing off patients concerns and symptoms long before covid existed. Difference now is that it has gotten worse.

[Asker]

@DownInTheDumps exactly...

[Leapfrog00]

I can relate to that! Last year I kept getting sick and dehydrated, and I had little to no appetite. After 2 weeks, I finally cave and go to the emergency room. They run some tests, and the doctor that came in to give me my results, this is what she said, and I kid you not, she asks me, "Do you have diabetes?"

And I said, "No, not that I know of," and then she says all smartass like, "Well, you do now."

She gave me no medical advice, didn't tell me what to do. She didn't even tell me they were going to admit me. I waited for another hour for a different doctor to come in and say, "Oh, they should have told you, we're going to admit you."

I told them I wanted to go home, but they were telling me I could die and my blood sugar was in the 1,000s.

If I were a doctor and told a patient that had diabetes, I'd be a lot more pleasant than, "Oh, you do now". Jeez! Yeah, I hear you though. Doctors have no sympathy, or empathy!

[nolabels]

I almost never respond to anonymous questions, but I'll make an exception here.

I can't answer your question as stated, but I'll offer the following:

Over the last several years I've had many, many terrible experiences with doctors.

BUT, I have been lucky enough to have found one caring young NP who is a shining light among the many other bureaucratically-numbed medical "professionals".

She is helping me greatly in navigating the world of specialists who may be hit-or-miss in helping me, as the case may be. She commiserates when a direction she pointed me in doesn't work out well, but always has a way to show some positive results even from the lousiest encounters with some specialists.

She hasn't let me down in the one regard that truly matters, she cares.

I think of her as an angel. I really do.

It was difficult finding someone such as her, but I'm glad I kept looking.

I wish you the best.

[BoopBoopBeep]

I keep hearing this complaint. I have WONDERFUL doctors (and I see nearly a dozen). I did have one I didn't care for all that much once. He wasn't bad, he just wasn't as engaging. I switched to one of the partners at his office, and he's wonderful too. I'm so sorry all these people have doctors they don't like, but keep looking, there are great ones out there. I invite my gen care physician and her husband over for holiday dinners. She's never shown up, but it's a real and true offer.

[boggboss]

Its a shitty situation but it tends to be that their are crazy backlogs and with issues that tend to be chronic their ain't much they can do as via person to person the issues are so different ao their ability to get you sorted causes them more issues which leads to frustration thats not me saying that's a good reason as its not but its a issue where their is no simple fix

[Anonymous]

It is all about money. I work in health care for corporate health care company. If you have insurance , they try to keep you in the hospital as long as possible. I see this and more first hand. There is a lot of money to be made in corporate health care, this is why we do not have socialized medicine. We are always under staffed , never enough workers. Need to make more profit. Doctors have to see x-amount of patients. Don't spend too much time with one patient.

[exitseven]

Keep looking for a doctor that you like. If you know anyone who is a nurse, , ask them because they know who all rhe good doctors are.

[Sparkie460]

Keep going to different doctors until you find one that you like and that will take the time to help you

[Anonymous]

i've been lied to about my heart condition the doctors flat out lied and contradicted the actual test results which i read myself they tried saying i was fine even though the xray and ekg said i had an enlarged left atryium and cardiomyaglia

[FilmGuy93]

They work insane hours and deal with a huge number of people who have problems all day.

They just get burnt out.

[brandon1122]

They only care about money