Peach, I think that younger doctors just coming out of med school are actually taught how to have a better bedside and office-side manner. Far too many of the older ones have god complexes. They are right, and YOU are wrong. End of story.

When you think of the amount of study these doctors have gone through, starting with having to achieve, achieve, achieve in high school, then putting in impossible hours throughout med school and residency and so forth, many of them grow to feel entitled. Many simply do not find the time or ability to communicate effectively with patients. Many had no interpersonal skills to begin with; the crushing load of study didn't help. (My oldest friend in the world--we've been buddies since 8th grade--is a psychiatrist. I used to visit him when he was doing residencies and internships, and I rarely saw him. He put in 24- and 36-hour shifts, fell asleep on a cot at the hospital, or came home and crashed. Medicine is a brutal study track.) So, no, it is not YOU.

May I suggest finding a nurse practitioner as a primary care? They actually are trained to listen. They give you far longer appointments. My primary care has a doctorate in nurse practitionership, and she is a marvel. She schedules appointments for at least a half hour. She LISTENS. And she has no problem saying, "I don't know, so I'm going to refer you to a specialist."

Hazel

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