Please don't mess with your doctor's mind

Doctors do their best in order to take good care of their patients because they want their patients to get well. It's in his best interests to do so, because a happy patient will refer lots of others to the doctor, and thus help his practice to grow.

However , in this day and age , unfortunately the trust which patients used to have in their doctor has taken a big beating . This is why patients spend a lot of time on Dr Google , trying to get his second opinions. Now while I am a big believer in the Information Therapy which Dr Google provides, patients need to understand that this is a double edged sword , and they need to be sophisticated users to benefit from this.

One of the worst things you can do to a doctor is to keep on challenging his authority or questioning his advice . He feels disrespected , and he's not going to take as good care of you as he would have if he had felt that you trusted and respected him. The doctor patient relationship is a delicate one and you need to nurture it.

Now this doesn't mean you that you leave your brains at home and do everything your doctor tells you to, just because he is the medical expert. However, you do need to respect the fact that he's a trained professional.

The problem is that trust is intangible. It's not something which you should give away easily , and therefore it's quite reasonable to expect your doctor to work in order to earn your trust. But once he's done that , then you shouldn't keep on playing doctor yourself . You should allow him the autonomy to help you to make the right decisions . This becomes a positive virtuous cycle.

If the doctor senses that you trust him, he respects you as well , and will go out of his way to make sure that you get the best care possible . This is why it's best to follow the middle  path - after you've verified your doctor's advice, let him be the captain of the ship. This means that you should let him know that you accept him as  being the leader of the medical team , but that you are still an important part of the team . He will also reciprocate , and this will help the two of you to craft a win win partnership where everyone benefits.