Health_Communication

Meagan Cohen Comm.308, Weds 7:20pm Reflection Journal #2 The Communication Makes All The Difference A few months ago I made the decision to stop seeing my pediatrician and move onto a physician. I made an appointment with the doctor who cares for both of my parents. After waiting in a patient care room for a short period of time Dr. Shaw came in to greet me. She was courteous and smiling while telling me how happy she is that I chose to come see the same physician as my parents. She asked me about school and work and seemed generally interested. It felt more like a conversation than a verbal questionnaire, which is how I always felt about seeing a doctor I wasn’t accustomed to. She asked me about my sex life and drug and alcohol use, and didn’t show any form of judgment based on my response. I expressed certain medical problems I was experiencing and she listed a number of treatment options that might help. She expressed which choice she felt would be best for me but told me there was some flexibility in choosing and that I should be able to decide myself. This to me was new. I had never before experience choice of that nature in relation to my health. Usually a doctor would just tell me what to do without ever informing me of alternate treatment options or allowing me to decide which option to treat with. This appointment was one of the most positive experiences I have ever had with a doctor, to this day. The transactional communication that occurred between Dr. Shaw and myself can best be described as both of our roles being of an equal nature. Although she was the one I sought advice from, her advice was neither an order nor a demand, but merely a suggestion. This bettered the visit in that I didn’t feel trapped by her decision or like I had no control over decisions about my health. Our conversation wasn’t physician centered, in that Dr. Shaw, did not do a majority of the talking, we both spoke equally and on the same level. Neither one of use was more assertive than the other. When she gave advice, I listened, and when I had questions, she responded without demeaning my thoughts and concerns. The only directives voiced by Dr. Shaw came after we had decided which treatment to use, in which case she directed me on how to properly administer the treatment to myself as well as how to properly ensure that any of my other daily activities refrained from interfering with such treatment. Dr. Shaw did not block any topics from our conversation, when I asked a question or brought up a concern, she answered directly without giving me a run around. Although my questions may have seemed naïve to someone with her extensive knowledge on the matter, never once did I feel patronized or put down for asking or not knowing the answer already. All this, and her very friendly demeanor, made my visit with Dr. Shaw incredibly positive and one that left me feeling comfortable making a follow up appointment. A few months prior to my visit with Dr. Shaw, I was feeling ill while at school. I headed over to a local walk in clinic for an appointment with a Physician there. Upon entering the care giving room, the Physician, without saying hello, asked me what issues I was experiencing. Actually her exact words were, “Ok, Meegan, what seems to be the problem.” I corrected her mispronunciation of my name and began to explain my symptoms. Midway through a sentence she interrupted to ask a question. After answering I picked up where I had left off. She interrupted me again to let me know that the treatment I had tried to give myself was incorrect, a waste of money and time, and I shouldn’t listen to who ever had informed me of such a treatment. I then countered with the fact that my mother had been the one to suggest it. She said, “And there in lies the problem, Meegan.” I wasn’t pleased and we had only just begun the appointment. After we had completed our conversation in regards to my symptoms, she checked her cell phone for messages, and than began writing a prescription. After she had written to prescriptions and handed them to me, she told me that I was to fill those at my local pharmacy, follow the directions for dosage on the bottle and come back for a follow a week later. She hadn’t told me what she’d prescribed, she hadn’t informed me of any potential side effects or risks. She had not offered me the choice of a liquid or pill form, or asked which I preferred. She did not give me the option of taking a generic, which is less expensive with my health insurance plan. The physician had not even bothered to correct the way she pronounced my name. I was very displeased. So, before she could leave the room in the manner that told me she was either very pressed for time or simply didn’t care to stay another minute, I asked her to remain and answer several questions in regards to the topics she had not covered. With every question asked, came a barely satisfying answer accompanied by a flick of her hand, a gesture that said, “oh, please,” or “forget about it.” I did not take kindly to this. The walk-in health clinic Physician’s behavior was rather appalling. She was far too assertive with her treatment, never giving me the chance to protest or inquire about other options with fewer side effects or of a less expensive cost. She was directive in presuming I would just blindly follow her orders in regards to the treatment she had prescribed and I didn’t appreciate her blocking my questions about other treatment options when she had already tried to end the appointment. I felt the waving of her hand to be patronizing and demeaning. She seemed to act like I had no business attempting to pick a different treatment option or different cost option, her choice was the best one simply because it was her choice. It was an inappropriate action, a transgression on her part. She spoke over me often making the dialogue we had very much physician centered communication. This experience was extremely negative for me and I did not return to that clinic again.