Irony

So I'm finishing up my final rotation of 4th year which happens to be with the private orthopod who is also my mentor. We go into the room of a new patient, this 50ish year old lady who is a self-proclaimed "house wife". CP = neck and shoulder pain with radiation down the arm. The doc recommends a series of x-rays to check the C-spine. To this the woman responds "no, I don't believe in x-rays". The doc kept his cool and asked if she'd accept the bare minimum - an AP and lateral. She reluctantly agreed.

20 minutes later we're back in and she's refused the x-rays. She claimed the x-ray tech wouldn't let her wear a thyroid shield. I can tell the doc's patience is running thin as he explains the impossibility of getting an AP of the neck while wearing a thyroid shield. Finally, he asks why she's so concerned....big mistake. This lady starts a 10 minute rant about this world-renowned surgeon named Dr. Oz who has been teaching about the dangers or x-rays. According to Dr. Oz, doctors (and especially dentists) needlessly take x-rays causing the incidence of thyroid cancer in women to spike.

The doc (who is the coolest cucumber I've ever seen) listens politely until she finishes then asks the greatest question I've ever heard: "Who is Dr. Oz"? That woman looked at him like he had asked "who is Santa Clause"?. This prompts another 10 minute lecture on what a great doctor he is and how renowned he is in the medical industry. Again, the doc listens calmly before replying: "look lady, I don't know who this Dr. Hoss is, but he doesn't write articles in any of the journals I read and I don't think I can help you".

It was one of the single funniest things that has ever happened in my four years of med school. I don't know what was funnier, that she was so emphatic about the medical prowess of Dr. Oz, or that my doc didn't have a clue who Dr. Oz was.

Anyway, I thought the story fit the theme of this thread: patients should be educated about their health, but they should leave medical decision making up to the doctors who trained 10+ years AFTER college to make them properly.

These lawyers prey on the less-educated and in the process deal a blow to the engine of ingenuity/progress. Is ANY medical device or drug going to be totally perfect? Of course not! If it didn't alter your body in some way, you wouldn't need it! People want perfection - there is no such thing! Receiving care means taking the good with the bad...and if companies go bankrupt paying out these huge class-action settlements it means the death of one more platform for improvement.

So I'm finishing up my final rotation of 4th year which happens to be with the private orthopod who is also my mentor. We go into the room of a new patient, this 50ish year old lady who is a self-proclaimed "house wife". CP = neck and shoulder pain with radiation down the arm. The doc recommends a series of x-rays to check the C-spine. To this the woman responds "no, I don't believe in x-rays". The doc kept his cool and asked if she'd accept the bare minimum - an AP and lateral. She reluctantly agreed.

20 minutes later we're back in and she's refused the x-rays. She claimed the x-ray tech wouldn't let her wear a thyroid shield. I can tell the doc's patience is running thin as he explains the impossibility of getting an AP of the neck while wearing a thyroid shield. Finally, he asks why she's so concerned....big mistake. This lady starts a 10 minute rant about this world-renowned surgeon named Dr. Oz who has been teaching about the dangers or x-rays. According to Dr. Oz, doctors (and especially dentists) needlessly take x-rays causing the incidence of thyroid cancer in women to spike.

The doc (who is the coolest cucumber I've ever seen) listens politely until she finishes then asks the greatest question I've ever heard]
great post

AWESOME, GADoc. Haha, I went home to visit my parents last week and when I got there, they were on the couch watching "sex secrets" or something with Dr. Oz. Sheesh. Good post!