Thursday, July 05, 2012

Why blaming your doctor does not help

When the outcome of medical treatment is poor, a  lot of patients end up blaming their doctor . They believe the doctor was ignorant , negligent or careless , which is why the treatment did not work. These patients become vengeful ; and not only do they want revenge because they're angry, they start losing all respect for doctors . This kind of attitude doesn't really help anyone .

A much more constructive approach would be to stop thinking of yourself as a victim , and rather than say “ I had a problem because the doctor was bad “ , it’s actually more empowering to say, “ I had a problem because I did not select the right doctor. “ This way, you are taking responsibility for your actions rather than behaving as a passive victim . This can be exhilarating . because you realize that the locus of control lies with you ! If you take this approach, you start taking responsibility for finding the right doctor for yourself , so that the problem does not recur the next time you need medical care.

if patients started taking this enlightened approach , not only would they get much better care, it would also enable them to have realistic expectations as to what doctors can do for them,  and they would be able to form effective partnerships with the doctor . This approach would eliminate a lot of bad doctors and would allow good doctors to flourish, because these are the ones who encourage their patients to be well informed.

Patients need to take responsibility for their own care - this is the only way they will ever be able to ensure that the doctor provides them with the best possible medical care.


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