Well, you have to add the 30 minutes you sit in the examining room before they walk in.
ping
One of my favorite experiences with doctors is the totally blank stare. You tell them some sympton which is extremely important to you, maybe that your left arm fell off that morning. They register absolutely zero reaction and move on. It's not just callousness, it appears to be they dismiss your observation as having absolutely no medical significance and why did you bother them with it. My guess is they are trained to do this to avoid legal liability that might result if they acknowledge the symptom or that they have no idea what causes it.
"Doc, why does it burn when I..."
I've got an 8:15 a.m. Dr's appt tomorrow. Hope he doesn't misdiagnose my stopped up ear due to the bad cold or flu symptoms I have.
The process weeds out smart people in favor of those committed to "service". It weeds out students who had undergraduate records based on intellectual challange in favor of high grades in more rote memory subjects.
We had several students in law school that flunked out during or at the end of the first year who then went to med school and prospered.
There are some good doctors out there. But you sure have to be careful to look around for the right ones.
ping
Actually, it's a lot more than that. It's the fact that we have the capability to treat many more diseases than in years past. There are more choices to make. The amount of learning required has induced increased specialization, which narrows the solution set offered by any one practitioner, often to the point of unapplicability. The amount to learn also decreases the pool of qualified physicians. Doctors want to cure patients, so they try their best within their knowledge. Unfortunately, maladies aren't specialized.
Advanced capability in any specialty often comes at a higher price. That combination increases risk. Pooling risks increases the total that can be spent on any one case, which gradually increases total demand beyond what the payer can bear. The pressure to cut costs increases, as does the risk that the diagnosis is wrong.
Taken together, that means doing more in less time. There are now more "correct" diagnoses requiring more data than can be determined in the time and budget alotted for initial screening.
Like "What's the phone number of the nearest Chinese herbalist?" ;)
That's why they call it PRACTISING medicine!
marking
This is a problem I am consistently having with my 8 year old daughter. Because we are military, we move from clinic to clinic. My 8yo has complained of severe pain in her stomach almost from the time she could talk. She has very little appetite, and she is way at the end of the growth scale. She isn't having any learning issues, however.
Appointment after appointment has been made, and no one will investigate further than "give her laxatives and make her eat more fiber."
Not one test, not one full exam even. They say she is just constipated, but these pains cause her to double over and she has days when she flat out can't walk from them. But it's all about the laxatives for them.
I haven't found one doctor that will listen to me. And because they refuse to get past the constipation issue, they won't refer her out in town to see a different, non-military doctor. And this has been going on for years.
No matter how educated, or experienced you are - you are still susceptible to errors, oversight, or misinterpretation of problems. It's when ego allows you trust yourself too much and you stop critical questioning that you reduce yourself to doing more harm than good.
Humility is what keeps the ego in check and allows for clear thought no matter what you're engaged in.
I'd be happy just to find a doctor who is fluent in English.
Years ago, a doctor did not feel it was necessary to inform me that the polyps he removed from me were stage 4. Took me 3 years to find out. Now, I take charge of my health. I will vigorously question and grill my doctors, dentist, etc. and will not leave or shut up until my questions are answered to my satisfaction. I will tell them to explain to me in laymans terms what they are doing, what the medication is supposed to do, side effects, alternate treatments, etc. If you do not take charge of your own health, no one else will.
Differential diagnosis bump!
A doctor's need to be right is almost as important as his need to be rich.
Doctors - sometimes wrong, but never in doubt.