slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) (03/03/86)
>Doctors I KNOW I need: > >An orthopedist (my search for a decent knee man is what led me to >leave the clinics). >A pain doctor (my surgeon has suggested we use nerve blocks instead >of more surgery, which would probably leave me crippled). >A diet doctor of some sort (I am intensly hypoglycemic...somewhat >like the person who posted about a month ago). >An internist. >A gyn. > >How do I go about finding good specimens of such? Sounds like the first thing you need is a good family practice doctor. I've found that it really helps to have someone look at ALL of you at once. Many women, for instance, only see a gyn. He/she is only interested in one area of them, and lots of other stuff can be neglected. Try the family practice section of the phone book and make appointments. Keep trying doctors until you find one that makes sense when she/he talks and that you like. Then if you need specialists, you have someone you trust who can recommend some. And why would the only good doctors be in NYC? The really good ones are probably out of the city rat-race in the smaller towns. It seems to me you get more concerned, caring medical care in a smaller city. Not to mention less expensive. A really rural area is another matter--as there are often too few doctors to allow any choice. Something in between is best. -- Sue Brezden ihnp4!drutx!slb ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nirvana? That's a place where the powers that be and their friends hang out. --Zonker Harris ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
abc@brl-smoke.ARPA (Brint Cooper ) (03/08/86)
Among the list of needed doctors given in the referenced article was a
good internist. One followup message suggested a 'shotgun' approach to
finding a 'family doctor.' My experience with 'family doctors' is that
they're fine for dealing with sore throats and simple ailments but that
they often wait too long to refer to a specialist when something is
REALLY serious.
I have myasthenia gravis and see some of the world's leading
neuromuscular experts at Johns Hopkins. You don't fool around with MG.
Yet, a local 'family doctor,' in conversation with my wife pooh-poohed
the necessity of seeing 'the big guys,' notwithstanding that the damn
thing nearly killed me twice!
I strongly suggest that the respondent begin her search with a good
internist. If your local area (Denver, was it?) has a reputable medical
school_cum_hospital complex, begin there. Identify the younger men and
women practicing internal medicine and select from among them. A
competent internist can best refer you to the gyn and other specialists
whom you might need. His/her affiliation with a good med center helps
assure that you get excellent referrals.
--
Brint Cooper
ARPA: abc@brl.arpa
UUCP: ...{seismo,decvax,cbosgd}!brl!abcjohn@ur-tut.UUCP (John Gurian) (03/10/86)
> Among the list of needed doctors given in the referenced article was a > good internist. One followup message suggested a 'shotgun' approach to > finding a 'family doctor.' My experience with 'family doctors' is that > they're fine for dealing with sore throats and simple ailments but that > they often wait too long to refer to a specialist when something is > REALLY serious. Like any other specialty, you can get good and bad family practictioners. It would be worthwhile to check and make sure that the family doc has been board-certified in family practice (i.e. has done a 3 year residency and takes recertification exams every 7 years). Again, this is never a guarantee, although it is worthwhile to note that FP's are the only ones that need to take recertification exams (others are planning it, I think). A good FP can treat the minor stuff, but can recognize serious stuff and make the referal. My own personal bias is that FP's are overly maligned in many cases - there a quacks in every field. I also think that FP's have a little more exposure to psych training, and being a firm believer in the biopsychosocial model of disease, this can only be a good thing. It can be a great help to have one doctor that knows EVERYTHING about a patient and the patient's lifestyle. > I strongly suggest that the respondent begin her search with a good > internist. If your local area (Denver, was it?) has a reputable medical > school_cum_hospital complex, begin there. Identify the younger men and > women practicing internal medicine and select from among them. A > competent internist can best refer you to the gyn and other specialists > whom you might need. His/her affiliation with a good med center helps > assure that you get excellent referrals. While this is certainly valid advice, in my opinion it perpetuates a myth that the researchers at a med school are gods, and the guys in private practice in the community, actually delivering medicine to the bulk of the population, are screw-ups. Certainly there are screw-ups in private practice. Just as certainly, there are screw-ups on the faculty of prestigious medical schools, and affiliation with a school provides no guarantees. -- -- John Gurian -- !{harvard,seismo,topaz}!rochester!ur-tut!john