Most people are in awe of physicians. Medical doctors are smart, well educated, and
devote their working lives to helping others.
The least we can do, it would seem, is not to add unnecessary
complication to their already-overstressed schedules by disagreeing with them. The current New England Journal of Medicine has an important article, “SpeakingUp — When Doctors Navigate Medical Hierarchy,” by Ranjana Srivastava of the
Monash Medical Center in Australia.
It turns out that not only patients are
intimidated by physicians; doctors are also intimidated by other doctors so
that they do not always speak up when they sense that something is wrong. Medical professionals are especially loath to
interrogate those whom they perceive as outranking them in the medical
profession’s pecking order. Srivastava,
an oncologist, was unwilling to express her sense of uneasiness about a patient
to the surgeon about to operate on him.
Her account of the incident and its consequences is honest and moving.
The message I took away from this article is
this: if something bothers you, speak up. Be respectful, ask reasonable questions, but don’t
keep silent. To this I would add: if the doctor becomes annoyed or brushes your
reservations aside, get a second opinion.
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