Patient's Perspective: Part 2

In my first posting on the patient's perspective I emphasized the importance of the relationship between the clinician and patient. I also focused on what physicians should be doing. In this post, I would like to share one of my own experiences that demonstrates the reasoning behind why the patient's perspective as well as their family's perspective is the most important attribute. Even though this took place so many years ago, I remember it so well because of the way that the physician made me feel. I went to go see my my primary care physician with my parents when I was about 14 years old. Unfortunately, my primary physician was not there so I had to see his covering provider. I had not seen my period for a few months and I was concerned about this. As soon as we went into the room, the physician asked me if I was pregnant. I knew that I was not pregnant so I wanted to have all of the necessary tests performed in order to ensure that I was in good health. The physician did not believe me when I said that I was positive that I was not pregnant. The physician went on to explain to my parents the amount of teenagers that entered her office and were pregnant. After her speech, the physician came over to me and told me that it was not good to lie and wanted to know if I was pregnant.

Both of my parents were in the room with me so she asked if I wanted them to leave so that I could have the opportunity to tell the truth. It was extremely frustrating due to the fact that I did not know this physician and did not like the manner in which she handled the situation. At such a young age, I was having so many different thoughts. I was concerned with whether or not something was wrong with me and if I would be able to have children in the future. The physician ordered me to have a pregnancy test, but no other tests were ordered. After the pregnancy test came back negative we left. I went back when my primary care physician was back in the office. He explained that it was normal for a female's hormones to be out of balance, but still ordered some tests to ensure that everything was fine. After all of my results came back normal I felt much better. The physician took the time to explain everything to me and addressed all of my concerns. This is what should be done. The first physician that I went to go see did not take my feelings into consideration. She may have many children come into her office pregnant, but that does not mean that she should assume that all of her females patients are pregnant. She made me feel as if I was being attacked. Each patient should be treated on an individual basis. This happened such a long time ago, but I remember it because I did not appreciate the way she made me feel. When I go to the doctor's office, I want to be helped and leave feeling good about the interaction. A patient's perspective is essential, because this is the patient's body after all.