Doctors Who've Been Treated By Other Doctors With Their Speciality Reveal What It Was Like
There's an old saying among hospital staff: Doctors make the worst patients. You can spend a short amount of time to ponder why that is, but the easiest solution is usually the best solution. When you have two people, arguing over what's the best way to treat one of them, things are bound to get heated, and entertaining. Reddit user, u/xblackacid, wanted to know the best of these tales when they asked:
Doctors of Reddit, have you ever been to the doctor who specializes in what you specialize in? If so, what was it like? Was it weird?
Might Be More Than You Thought
Saw one of my attendings for a vasectomy.
It's good to have it put in to perspective so I know what my patients go through when I have them whip out their junk.
Spinal Tap
Anesthesiologist: Pretty weird. I asked for a spinal for ankle surgery, so I could feel what they're like myself. The anesthesiologist had to stick me three times for the spinal.
Then when the surgeon was prepping I could feel how cold the iodine was. Dammit. So I had to go to sleep after all :(
Letting Go Of The Scalpel
My wife is a surgeon. She has had surgery before and says it not weird. She can't exactly perform surgery on herself and grew up going to doctors despite having parents who were doctors so it was normal to her.
Interestingly, our son had to have open heart surgery as an infant and she said that it was hard to let someone else operate on her baby. You don't really trust anyone as much as you trust yourself, especially when it comes to your kids. She couldn't operate on him for obvious reasons and she's also not even a cardiothoracic surgeon so it only made sense that someone else performed the surgery, but she said it was still extremely hard and she couldn't stop thinking about everything that could go wrong. Similarly, her sister is an anesthesiologist and gets nervous when her kids have to be placed under anesthesia. I think being more educated on the topic can be both a blessing and a curse.
Note: Our son's surgery went fine. You wouldn't be able to tell he had surgery on his heart unless you looked at his scar. He's currently playing baseball and training for a youth triathlon.
A Soda Tooth
I'm a dentist at a two-doctor practice, so we're basically each other's dentists, and we give each other Looks because both of us are kind of coffee/soda addicts and have seen each other's radiographs. The other dentist keeps whinging about how they need a crown but will never get in the d-mn chair for me to drill it! Doctors make the worst patients, it's said...
Who Consoles The Consolers?
As a psychiatry resident, I started consulting a psychiatrist myself. It was strongly recommended by several of ours seniors on our first day, since it can be quite violent for lots of different reasons, (horrible patient life stories, lots of sexual abuse, being threatened or attacked by some patients...).
It's not a physician/patient relationship. We talk very openly, like two coworkers, and he tells me a lot about his own experiences and difficulties. It's a bit like having a "tutor", which we don't have during our internship in my country. Very helpful !
No One Knows
Neurologist. It was weird. I kinda just went in and was like "I have no f-cking clue, it's weird and doesn't fit the closest syndrome." He just replied "Yeah, no, that's pretty weird, I have no idea either. What do you wanna do?"
So we were both flumoxed and ended up doing nothing and hoping, which is pretty par for course for neuro anyway
Gender Pranks
I thought I broke my foot and went in to one of the ERs I staffed as a resident because I knew that ED wouldn't be busy and I didn't trust the local urgent care to read my foot xr.
One of my mentors (who is also department chair and vice chief of staff) was on. He saw I checked in on the computer, changed my complaint to "vaginal pain" and when I got to the room, the nurse reflexively put the pelvic cart in the room...good times. Also, foot wasn't broken.
Edit: yes, I am male.
Taking Yourself Out Of The Equation
I'm a family doctor (aka GP). Sometimes I call my family doctor to parlay about my kids when they're ill because it's hard to doctor your own kid. I prescribe my own hay fever medication though. My family doctor also places IUDs, but I opted to get my IUD at a gynaecologist, despite that costing money, because I felt that would be weird to get from someone who's basically a coworker.
And my doctor is retiring soon... And I'm going to take over his practice. So I gotta find a new one!
"...It Wasn't Enough"
A close family friend is a neurosurgeon at a large academic center (training neurosurgery residents). He had a seizure in the bathroom, hit is head, and had a massive cerebral hematoma. Rushed to the ER and then seen by his own residents (trainees) as well as colleagues. Imagine you're training someone one day to do neurosurgery and then you come in on a stretcher the next day needing them to do it to you.
BTW, he did die unfortunately. They must have drilled a hole to reduce the swelling (or whatever neurosurgeons do) but apparently it wasn't enough.
Wasting Time
Also a med student and I had to most unusual experience at the GP the other day. I had to go to a different one than ususal because mine was on holiday and as soon as he found out I was a med student he started talking to me about all my different classes, told me about his time as a student and gave me the number of a professor friend of his to see regarding the field I'm interested in. Then he send me out to his daughter's office to do the actual examination because he saw how late it got.
I was in his office for a good hour.
Change The Channel
My dad asked to watch his own vasectomy.
The doc said ok and my dad fainted and split his head open.
You're 15 Minutes Are Up. Mine Start Now.
I'm a medical student, but a couple months ago I went to a psychiatrist. When he found out that I was a Med student he started telling "back in my day" stories which ultimately ended in a rant about how med students have it so much easier these days.
That was definitely an awkward 45 minutes
A False Start
Emergency Medicine registrar (US= resident) - I fainted in handover one morning. Boss insisted on working me up in case there was a worrying underlying cause.
Nothing found and eventually agreed with me that it was likely to just be 13h night shift with no eating drinking or taking a break, combined with the AC malfunctioning and the department being like an oven.
They kept asking what I wanted to do. The whole point of seeing someone else when you're sick is because your own judgement probably isn't the best. I pretty much just wanted to go home and sleep, but just said " yeah, okay" to every test he suggested.
Missed A Glimpse
A couple of comments. I no longer tell phlebotomist I'm a doc if I can help it, because they get nervous and miss probably 80% of the time. If I don't tell, they almost always do a great job.
When I was in labor with my son, the resident on call had been one of my classmates. He would have to examine my cervix and stuff overnight as it would be necessary. That would have been weird, except that he said this: "I'll have the OB nurse check on your routine progress as necessary, but if you run into ANY problems, you're mine." That was just the right thing to say and do, and all went well, thankfully.
Those Aren't The Numbers I Want
My father is a cardiothoracic surgeon. He had heart surgery about 10 years ago.
I remember him walking out of his room with the heart rate monitor and was telling staff that the readings on the monitor weren't what he wanted them to be and that they should read "X" and that he needs "X" of "X".
After that my uncle turned to me and said, "doctors make for the worst patients"
When You See The Numbers Add Up
A nurse, with emergency and shock/trauma experience. I was rear-ended at freeway speed in stopped traffic. CHIBLOC plus massive intrusion into the passenger compartment = level one trauma. Traffic was garbage and so the local ambulance service got me far enough to get to a clearing for the helicopter to take me to a hospital.
My fool a-- flips into trauma nurse mode and starts grilling the EMTs on the bus and then the flight nurses about why I need air transport and, if they really feel I need a bird, why the f-ck are they taking me to a level two trauma center... of course I declined the Ativan they kept offering me.
Surreal experience. More surreal still when I get a 39k chopper bill for a 10 mi ride to a bandaid station.
Get To The Point
I'm an ob/gyn. Went to see a gyn (that I've worked with professionally).
Wasn't weird at all. She was quick and to the point which was perfect for me but she's also down to earth and kind. I just didn't want to see someone I worked with really closely or one of my male attendings.
ALL The Goods
So I'm a labor and delivery nurse. I am pregnant and since I get free healthcare at the hospital where I work, I will be delivering there. Which means my coworkers will be my nurses and doctors and will know and see EVERYTHING. I think for most people that would be a nightmare, but I'm honestly looking forward to it. I trust the people I work with and I also get to pick and choose which nurses and doctors I get. So basically I'll get the best healthcare possible, and all my friends will be there after the birth to come congratulate me!
Sometimes, You Can Even Learn
As soon as the doctor I'm with finds out I'm a Med student they treat me way nicer. They take opportunities to teach me, actually discuss my treatment with me as an equal and allow me to have input. As someone who has a chronic condition and so regularly has contact with doctors it has really improved my experience.
Remember, They're Human Too
More weird for her colleagues treating her. My mother worked in neurology. After her aneurysm, none if her co-workers wanted to officially declare her brain dead (they did tell my family she was though).
They kept her on the machines for a couple of extra days until the most senior staff member in the department did it.
H/T: Reddit