Friday, December 26, 2008

Doctor Etiquette


Ashley and I have been in a lot of doctor's offices recently. I try to schedule as many of our appointments as possible during school breaks, and it seems I am doing a good job with this Winter Break! Between the two of us, we have visited or will visit the hospital MRI department, the rheumatologist, the neurosurgeon, the pediatrician, the gynecologist, and the gastroenterologist.

Some of our visits will be a lot better than the others, but not because of the particular malady that brings us to the office. Rather, the success of the visit will be determined by the doctor and his manners.

I haven't heard many folks talk about the importance of good manners in a doctor. So, I was thrilled to find the following article earlier this month in the NY Times. After reading it, let me know what you think. Is it important to you that your doctor practice good manners, or is his/her skill alone what helps you decide whether a doctor is "good"?

The Six Habits of Highly Respectful Physicians

2 comments:

Holly said...

What a good article. Hopefully several doctors out there will take the time to read it.

Rena said...

Very good article. I think a good doctor is someone knowledgable AND treats his/her patients like a human being, not just a case file.