Be nice to your doctor or else you might just die.

[Justiina]

dailymail.co.uk/news/articl...

Ok this study is made under stressful situation, but I can't help wondering if it applies to any doctor and any situation.

So should we go and beg? Maybe take gifts with us like apples so that those poor doctors would feel good.

Is this why some GP's and endos treat us like garbage? They feel undermined and critized when patient demands better care and might know more. So doctor just gives in and let it affect. This btw is scary.

Doctors basically have no worries losing their jobs. Even bad doctors get a job. They have no motivation to work harder or question the system. Instead, they demand more money or they settle with anything big pharma tells them to do as they get paid for it.

Patients might not be happy and very thankful as they might actually feel simply shitty. Tired patients might be cranky and snappy. Patients might be scared and hate doctors and hospitals. Still patient has to give in and be humble and basically shut up.

Just thinking.

[Clutter]

Justiina, the focus of the article is how rudeness from staff to medical teams may affect patient safety.

Doctors in the UK have continuous professional development training, regular appraisals and revalidation to maintain at least minimal standards, and those that fall short are retrained and practice under supervision. If performance continues to fall short their GMC registration is withdrawn and they can no longer practice. Most doctors reported to the GMC for infringement of standards are apparently reported by colleagues, not patients.

Rude patients probably don't fare as well as civil or pleasant patients do. Rudeness doesn't usually prosper in any walk of life. It doesn't matter how pleasant one is to one's doctors though, we will all die one day, but hopefully not due to medical error.

[Justiina in reply to Clutter]

Yup I am very aware of what this study was about, but it made me think if any rudeness affects as are some doctors reacting to patients having certain attitude that affects the patient and their situation.

To doctor it simply is who cares situation. They are getting paid anyways. Patient has to start over and try to find a new doctor.

That's my "question". If rudeness of other staff affected the doctors does it apply in any other situation as well ,meaning facing rude patient. Does it affect the willingness of the doctor to offer the best treatment or do they let it affect and do more mistakes misdiagnosing patients. And/or labeling patient as difficult which is a stigma that sticks and doctors do know that!

Whether this leads to death or just causing a lot of inconvenience to patient getting mistreated or left without diagnose and suffer doesn't matter.

[Clutter in reply to Justiina]

Justiina, It's human nature to take offence and be upset at deliberate rudeness whatever the source. I don't think patient rudeness should, or does, lead to negligent care but doctors are unlikely to go the extra mile for someone who is rude and abusive. Doctors in the UK can refuse to treat very abusive and/or violent patients.

Frankly there is no excuse for patients to be rude to doctors except perhaps if they are in terrible pain or stress when it may be understandable. There is no excuse at all for doctors to be rude to patients.

[Zephyrbear]

This article was highlinghting the effect of rudeness from staff towards staff, not patients towards staff. And why should you even want to be rude? Rudeness never achieved anything positive and it doesn't even make the rude person feel better! Much better to be polite (icily if necessary) and get your point across intelligently and try to engage the doctor into working with you. As my mum used to say: 'You'll attract far more flies with sugar than you ever will with vinegar...' Manners costs absolutely nothing and yet, can achieve so much.

[Justiina in reply to Zephyrbear]

As I said I wonder if it applies in all situations. In the end the article it is said it's not the best tell your doctor you want second opinion.

Yes generally it works to be polite , but when you face someone who treats you like an idiot I find it pointless to be nice. So I am wondering if this is why some doctors are treating us bad, not is there a point to be nice and polite.

Rudeness can be seen so many ways so is it something patients has to consider. Not to ask too many questions or not to push to get more tests as a doctor might see it as rudeness. But it could be the patient before you that was rude and a doctor is thinking about that, not you. Or it could be patient before you with similar issues that was rude and the doctor thinks oh no not these patients again.

So it is not about wanting to be rude. And like I said a patient might be tired, in pain, feeling awful. The last thing in your mind is to be nice and polite. Some people are generally rude when scared or meeting new people.

See, last time I went to private practice for a blood test. When I was paying for it I realised I did not have my card with me, just cash and I was few euros short. I had been there before, and once I had similar incident and they let me pay online when I get home. Which I did asap and some extra. Total of that bill was 200 euros.

So now I was like 3 or 4 euros short and I apologised my bad memory and said I can pay it online ,and some extra again. They gave me discount and then nothing. They did not even look at me. And it was the same nurse who took the blood sample. They were supposed to call me my results as that is the policy. No one called, and they had my number as they had called before, same nurse.

I called them after a week and was another nurse on the phone , said the other nurse has written on the papers that she has tried to call several times no response. In that case she should have sent me a letter. Never happened. So I turned to someone worse than scum. I had already used 600 euros for tests and doctor appointments and because of 3 euros there was no reason to be nice anymore or to do the right thing.

It was an honest mistake from my side which I apologised and offered to fix and pay more, I was not rude or impolite yet I was treated like I had something so wrong.

So it isn't about just being rude as we might understand rudeness and what it could mean to us.