Posted by Racer on January 10, 2004, at 16:31:45
OK, does anyone here know anything about checking into a doctor's qualifications or abilities? Free sources to find out if a doctor has flunked out of psychopharmacology, or if he got any specialized training in his area of practice, or if he graduated at the top of his class and then went on to WOW his collegues during his residency?
It's not that important, but I'm feeling so wretched, both physically and emotionally, and since I'm limited to ONE choice of doctor, and he's limited by what drugs the program offers, and since I see him for between 5 and 10 minutes per month anyway, I am not feeling as if I'm getting particularly appropriate care. I know, he's a doctor, not God, and there's only so much the drugs can do, but I'm feeling worse in so many ways, I can't help but wonder if he's working at this clinic because he did so badly in med school or residency that no one else would take him!
(Mind you, he looks quite young, and graduated in 1990, so my first thought is that he's getting amnesty from student loans by working there; my second thought is that he's using his experience in this clinic for a long term research project; and my third thought is that he's working at the clinic because he believes that it is the Right Thing To Do, offering quality services to an underserved and needy segment of the community. It's just that I also wonder if he's where he is because he's nuttier than I am and feels more secure seeing only patients who are so sick he can't help but feel superior to us. And I do have that little voice saying, "um, or maybe he just skated through med school on C's and alienated his supervisors in his residency?")
So, any comments? Any great sources of insight? Any support, either in the "it really is so hard to get the right cocktail going" or the "you know, here's another suspicious thought to cultivate about him..." lines? While I'm obviously not happy about my state of body or mind, I'm perfectly happy to entertain all silly suppositions regarding the doctor, up to and including that he's a space alien or Republican. Please, if you can't edify me, you can entertain me. Tap shoes optional.
Thanks! (And feel free to tell me your suspicions and complaints about your own caregivers. At least it'll remind me I'm not alone...)
poster:Racer
thread:299072
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/2000/20031122/msgs/299072.html