Doctors are important in healthcare because, without physicians, saving lives, people with terminal illnesses and life-threatening disabilities would not live very long but sometimes, it can be stressful to go to the doctor because not all doctors listen to patients. As a disabled person, I sometimes have to go to the doctor more often than most people because I live with a lot of challenges, and for the most part, I have good experiences but unfortunately, not everyone has mostly positive experiences like I do, and some people avoid going to the doctor. Patients should not avoid going to the doctor because of the fear of being shamed, but a lot of people do because doctors sometimes create negative experiences that make people become very bitter toward healthcare professionals. I think that there are some doctors who are just horrible people, but I don’t think that all doctors intentionally try to create negative experiences for patients, and sometimes don’t realize that the way they said something is harmful. How can doctors create a more positive experience for patients? In this post, I am going to talk about what doctors can do to create a more positive experience in healthcare.
Stop weighing patients unnecessarily– When you go to the doctor a lot of the time you are asked to step on the scale because healthcare is very weight-focused. I think that there are some instances where it’s necessary to have an accurate weight, but I don’t think it’s necessary to weigh someone at every appointment and can negatively impact some people. You never know who has body image issues who will become super self-conscious about their weight when they hear it and engage in unhealthy behaviors. We need more weight-inclusive providers who don’t blame every medical problem on someone’s weight or force people to step on the scale unnecessarily because it can do a lot of harm. I wish that there were more doctors who understood the negative impact the scale has on some people and would stop weighing people unnecessarily because weight does not equal health.
Listen to patients- My doctors will probably be able to give you a better science lesson on my disability than I will ever be able to, but I don’t care how many years you spent in school you don’t know my disability better than I do because you don’t live with it. One of the best ways you can create a more positive experience for patients is by simply listening to them and not being that arrogant doctor who throws your degree in someone’s face and acts like they are the smartest guy in the room. A vast majority of people who seek advice from an online health advocate who is not a doctor are those who have been dismissed by healthcare professionals and are desperate to get some kind of relief because not all doctors listen. Doctors sometimes get annoyed when a patient google their symptoms, but I don’t shame people for doing that because sometimes healthcare professionals are not helpful, and you feel like it’s your only choice. If more doctors started listening to patients, it would change healthcare because patients their pain is being validated and they would be more inclined to reach out to a doctor when they are struggling with their health.
Make your office accessible to disabled people– Disabled people sometimes struggle to find doctors and have to settle for one they don’t really like because most doctors’ offices are not accessible. A nice doctor who listens to patients will create a positive experience, but you can easily turn a positive experience into a negative one by the lack of accessibility. Exam rooms need to be more accommodating of larger wheelchairs because not all wheelchair users are able to get out of their chairs and walk. If there is one place that should be accessible, it’s your doctor’s office, but often, they are one of the least accessible places. Inaccessibility is stressful, and I think we can make doctors’ offices more accessible to create a more positive experience for disabled people. If you ever wondered why you don’t treat a lot of disabled people with physical disabilities, it’s probably because of the lack of accessibility, and disabled people are going to another doctor who is more accessible. Disabled people would be more inclined to actually go to the doctor if it were more accessible and we weren’t navigating constant barriers because accessibility matters!
Educate yourself on ableism- Healthcare is filled with ableism, and I think every doctor I have gone to has probably said something ableist at one time or another, but I don’t think it’s always intentional. What is ableism? It is a form of discrimination or social prejudices that favor non-disabled people and is the idea that the abilities of non-disabled people are superior, and all disabilities need cures. As a disabled person, I am constantly facing some kind of ableism in healthcare, and judging by the way some doctors talk about disability, I don’t think it’s taught in school, and if it is, it’s very poorly done. There are a lot of ways you can be ableist, and it can be as simple as referring to someone as handicapped or wheelchair-bound. If you want to have a positive impact on your disabled patients, it’s so important that you educate yourself on ableism, and you can do that by reaching out to disabled advocates and reading articles written by disabled people. I wish it were required for doctors to take a course on ableism that was created by disabled people because it would change healthcare. As a disabled person, I don’t expect non-disabled doctors to ever fully understand ableism, but I think if more doctors took it upon themselves to have some knowledge of it would create positive experiences for disabled people.
Make sure you have a friendly staff– I have gone to tons of doctors where the doctor is nice and is the reason I stay there, but the staff is so rude. It is important to have a nice understanding doctor, but it’s also important to have a nice receptionist, physician assistant, and office manager because if your staff is rude, it doesn’t send a very positive message even if you are a great doctor. Your staff represents your practice, and if you want patients to have a positive experience, everyone who works there and interacts with patients needs to be friendly.
If a doctor wants a patient to return for their yearly physicals, it is so important that you create a positive experience for patients, because if you are a dismissive doctor who thinks they are the smartest guy in the room, it is likely patients aren’t going to come as frequently as you want them to. There are so many problems in healthcare that create negative experiences for patients, and I don’t think it’s always the fault of the doctor and sometimes, insurance companies denying necessary medical procedures are to blame. In healthcare, you should work as a team because although the doctor may have the degree, they work for you, because without patients, you wouldn’t have a job. Patients should respect their doctor just as much as doctors should respect their patients because doctors’ appointments are already stressful enough, and we don’t need an arrogant doctor making it even worse. How do you think we can create a more positive experience for patients? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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