Not sure if I did right thing...situation at Drs office

[BellvilleDad]

I find this offensive.

Not unexpected. Would you like my employer's phone number?

]Neither am I, otherwise why would I have even been giving this a second thought? I don't feel "wronged", I felt it was an inappropriate situation that needed to be addressed. Like some other posters mentioned, what if I was a Cancer patient and she suggested prayer instead of chemo? Would that make it serious enough to address?

Then I'd hope you'd take your doctor's advice.

What if I were some easily influenced person who decided to just "stop my meds" to pray (or stand on my head holding my breath drinking carrot juice if that had been the advice) and there were dire consequences because someone in a position of "authority" at the doctors office told me to?

I don't wish for anyone to lose their job, but I rely on my doctor and his staff to help me with my medical problems. I do not go there for spiritual guidance or holistic answers, I go to have a serious medical issue treated.

What if prayer actually helped? Really, what if you actually went home and tried it (while following your doctor's advice, too, of course) and your condition improved. There are many "what-if" scenarios that can be reviewed. It all boils down to how we respond when offered advice like this.

 

[BellvilleDad]

I know the OP and yep, you are pretty much wrong in your assessment. She is a really nice, sweet and caring person and I'm sure she didn't want to just get someone in trouble. It was totally inappropriate advice and the doctor should know what his assistants are telling people.

I'm completely willing to accept that. I like people like that!

 

[Disney Doll]

How about if I jump ion here as a nurse?

First, doctors and nurses are smart about different things. One does not become a nurse because he/she could not become a doctor. One becomes a nurse because that is the profession he/she wants. A smart doctor will listen to a good nurse, because often a good nurse can give a smart doctor some valuable information and even some guidance once in a while. We can all learn from each other and often a nurse will have an experience that perhaps a doctor has not had and could say "The last time we had a patient with a similar situation they did this and it worked pretty well". Likewise, a smart nurse will listen to a good doctor, for the same reasons. I like to think of it as a team appraoch.

Now, on to the MA. Her statement was inappropiate in the context and tone in which it sounds like it was made. A medical person telling a patient to pray so she could "stop all these pills" is wrong. Especially if it was said in a disparaging type tone. In reading the OP's post, disparaging is sort of the "tone" I read it in in my mind. It was insensitive.

That being said, a medical person offering prayer as an adjunct is not necessarily wrong, but it does depend on:
1. The patient's state of mind
2. The patient's religious beliefs

I have been known to say to a patient "Would you like me to pray with you?" when I KNOW FOR A FACT that the person is religious and is a pray-er, so I know that perhaps prayer would bring them comfort and make a difficult situation easier to bear. For a person who is not religious or not a "pray-er" offering prayer is just one more aggravation.

In your case OP, I think you were correct in bringing it to the MD's attention because it must be addressed with that employee that she should not make commentary like that in a light or flippant manner.

As healthcare professionals, we have to follow the patient's lead and do our best to do those things which help the patient. That can include prayer or more spiritual pursuits in addition to the "medicine" part, but only at the patient's behest.

 

[happybratpack]

Not unexpected. Would you like my employer's phone number?



Then I'd hope you'd take your doctor's advice.



What if prayer actually helped? Really, what if you actually went home and tried it (while following your doctor's advice, too, of course) and your condition improved. There are many "what-if" scenarios that can be reviewed. It all boils down to how we respond when offered advice like this.

1. Your first comment is uncalled for. I did not take any action lightly and without thought.

2. How do you know what I have and haven't tried? Do you know I haven't prayed? Do you know what my religious beliefs are? You DON'T.

You come across as a religious person, what if she had suggested I worship Satan or practice some kind of witchcraft because it worked for her? Would that still be ok?

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

My thought is that God has gifted doctors with the ability to treat others' illnesses. So by going to a doctor who can help you, God has answered your prayers.

That's a nice way of looking at it. I had the most wonderful psychiatrist and psychologist. They were AMAZING. And I have come across a lot of people in this field. God answered my prayers.
Unfortunately, both of them are leaving the area. One is moving to PA and the other has now gotten a job closer to his home (about an hour and a half away). So I'm heartbroken about that. But I am thankful that I did have them when I did. I don't like my new psychiatrist at all, and I haven't found a replacement for my psychologist.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

This thread has bothered me since it appeared, probably because everyone seems to be thinking the same thing, and I'm on the other side for once.

Nope, wouldn't have even occurred to me to try and get the MA in trouble. Her suggestions wouldn't have even caused a blip on my radar, I probably would have been glad that someone cared enough about why I was at the doctor's office to discuss it with me.

I'm wondering if her suggestion had been different (ie. "I tried carrot juice and yoga, and that really worked for me") if it would have triggered the same negative response from everyone.

Yes, it would be for me.

It is not the type of advice, religious, vitamins, etc, but that the MA first of all violated the patient's privacy by trying to discuss her condition with her and then worse, offered advice that was contradictory to what her boss was prescribing.

If the MA was convinced that yoga and carrot juice was a good option, she should have discussed with her boss, the physician, and then had the physician offer it as a treatment option.

A MA should never offer advice on a treatment option unless the patient specifically asks her for her opinion or advice. In the doctor's office, where the person is there to seek the advice and treatment of the physician, the MA was totally out of line to offer an alternative treatment.

The MA should feel free to offer advice on a message board, start a blog about her experience, etc, but in a doctor's office, extremely inappropriate!

 

[Mickey's Minion]

Agreed.

All this, "You absolutely did the right thing! Yahoo! I hope she got fired!" crap reinforces my declining hopes for basic humanity. Sure, she shouldn't have suggested the woman go off the meds. She made a mistake. "I was so offended! The nerve! I'll tell her boss, that'll teach her to make a mistake when speaking thus to me!"

I haven't seen many people say the nurse should have been fired on the spot.

But her boss, the doctor in this case, needed to be informed so that he could remedy the situation.

If this was the first mistake, hopefully the doctor is a kind human being and just told her to stop.

But what she did was wrong and could be dangerous to the physician's patients, putting the physician in the liability spot. Additionally, if the MA is routinely making the physician's customers uncomfortable, he could lose patients, and his practice would suffer. It is amazing how word of mouth stories spread in a community. If people think that he runs a preaching, religious practice, people may stop making appointments with him. And if nobody mentions it to him, he will not know how to fix it.

The OP was correct in mentioning to her physician, the one she is paying to see, that the MA made her uncomfortable and offered her religious advice.

If I was in a grocery store and one of the clerks was at the meat counter telling people not to buy the meat because of cruelty to animals, I would mention something to the manager. Same difference. The clerk is just offering his "opinion" on buying meat, but it is an opinion that can make people uncomfortable and does not belong in the workplace.

If there is behavior by an employee that makes me uncomfortable to receive services at that business, I will inform the manager.

 

[2binak]

Additionally, if the MA is routinely making the physician's customers uncomfortable, he could lose patients, and his practice would suffer. It is amazing how word of mouth stories spread in a community. If people think that he runs a preaching, religious practice, people may stop making appointments with him. And if nobody mentions it to him, he will not know how to fix it.

This has happened to me but in a dental office. The person had made unsolicited comments to me about a medical topic that she had no business talking to me about. I talked to the dentist that night about it and it turned out that I wasn't the first patient to talk to him about her. I'm sure there were plenty of patients who didn't say a thing, just went home and thought "What is happening to Dr. So and So's practice?" He was devistated to find out that she had made his patients so uncomfortable and most importantly, that she was misinforming some of us on topics that she had no business discussing. The dentist ended up firing her because he felt that keeping her around was a liability to his practice. People wait months to get in to see him, but if she had stayed around, I know that he would have lost many patients.

 

[BellvilleDad]

1. Your first comment is uncalled for. I did not take any action lightly and without thought.

Ok. You're right, my line about you calling my boss was uncalled for. You said you were offended by the nurse in your OP, then I offended you by offering my opinion...but you DID ask for our opinions in your OP. I should have not offered mine, since it differed from the majority.

2. How do you know what I have and haven't tried? Do you know I haven't prayed? Do you know what my religious beliefs are? You DON'T.

Again, you are right. I don't know your religious beliefs, or if you hold any. I didn't comment on your beliefs at all. I was throwing in another "what-if". And again, I should have just...not.

You come across as a religious person, what if she had suggested I worship Satan or practice some kind of witchcraft because it worked for her? Would that still be ok?

Well, I have to say, of all of the "what-ifs" posed in this thread, this one is probably the most unlikely. I am a religious man, and if her advice to me was to worship satan, I suppose I'd find another doctor in an effort to get as far away from her as possible.

Tell you what, please forgive me for entering into this conversation. You really seem to be a nice person who was put in an akward and uncomfortable situation. We all behave differently in these scenarios, and we all hope we did the right thing. Who knows, maybe your discussion with the doctor prompted a beneficial discussion in their office, and now everyone knows what is appropriate and what is not.

 

[peyjax]

I think you did the right thing.

I had a similar situation where a MA made me very uncomfortable by their remarks. I did not say anything but did not return to that office. I went on a recommendation of a friend who was good friends with the doctor. Later they asked how it went. I told them and later I found out they in return were asked by the doctor about me. After informing him we was disappointed I said nothing while with him. He in turn lost a patient because of his staff. After thinking about it I realized his staff is a reflection of him and he really should know

 

[happybratpack]

Thanks everyone for the input and opinions. (all of them!)

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!

 

[Mickey's Minion]

Well, I have to say, of all of the "what-ifs" posed in this thread, this one is probably the most unlikely. I am a religious man, and if her advice to me was to worship satan, I suppose I'd find another doctor in an effort to get as far away from her as possible

Bingo. Exactly why the OP was correct in informing the physician that one of his employees was making his customers uncomfortable.