Healthy Life: Doctors are not the enemy

Indeed, doctors and lawyers (which I am) and everyone else are human beings. That being said, I have an obligation to my clients to be a zealous advocate for them and also to be honest about what can and can't be done in a representation.

I don't begrudge doctors an income - most work very long hours and don't make nearly as much as most people think they do. I dislike the training they get which teaches them to detach from patients and view the patient as a symptom. The AMA has largely contributed to the dehumanization of medicine in America. I'm thankful to see Osteopathic Physicians are starting to become more common because they are trained differently - they treat the mind/body connection and most are spiritually sensitive to people's needs as well (not in an overtly religious way).

Most doctors are not rich. Most lawyers aren't either, for that matter. And we'd all be well advised to heed your suggestion about studying our situation and being partners in health care. There are many doctors who will not listen to patients and I've even had one heave a glucograph at me and tell me that wasn't what he wanted from me (I fired him on the spot and told him he needed psychiatric treatment).

The problem is that in many areas they are ALL unwilling to allow the patient to participate in treatment and that is a huge problem. People have no options and they're dying because these medical professionals refuse to listen. I find this unconscionable. If a doctor refuses to work with me as a sentient human being capable of reason then that doctor has no business working in medicine, IMO. Not that I have an opinion on the topic or anything... :)

Doctors are not the enemy. We need them, but they also need us or they'd all be selling pencils on street corners. It works both ways.