Has a friend or relative ever asked, “can you recommend a good doctor?” I have learned over the years to avoid answering this question. The term “good doctor” has a variety of definitions to a variety of people.  

When looking for a doctor, I take into account clinical expertise, communication style and accessibility. I quietly watch a physician’s behavior at the hospital to determine whether or not I would use their services. I would never see a physician who was clinically excellent, yet never listened to his patients or the nurses. A physician who feels they are so superior they do not need to talk with a patient, or refuses to come see a patient upon request of the nurse places his patient at risk. I have crossed a few physicians off my “go to” list  simply because they pooh-poohed a nurse’s concern and refused to come see their patient. The patient suffered negative consequences. On the other hand I wouldn’t go see a physician simply because I thought they were a nice person. I’ve known many “nice” physicians whose clinical expertise is marginal, and I wouldn’t let them see my dog, let alone mess with my health. 

Over the years though I have realized everyone has their own interpretation of what a “good “doctor is, and my criteria is not necessarily the same as theirs.  For example, my
Aunt Mildred simply wants a doctor who will listen to her when she tells him about her bowel habits or her bridge club. My mother wanted one-stop shopping. She couldn’t understand why the internal medicine doctor she was seeing for hypertension couldn’t perform a pap smear as well.  Needless to say, if you were specialists, my mother didn’t think much of you.  A gentle man I once knew thought his doctor was great because office visits are quick and cheap. His diabetes and asthma were poorly controlled, but he loved his doctor.  My friend “Kay” thinks her doctor is “good” because she is a woman. “I don’t feel comfortable going to a male doctor, she’s a woman so she must have struggled against the male bureaucracy to succeed. I’m sure she is good.”

It is all in the eye of the beholder. My friend Sally who works in medical record says this particular doctor is a “good”. She says he always completes all his charts in a timely manner and never has to send him a reminder. On the other hand, Joe the security guard thinks this doctor is not so good. “He’s a jerk,”, says Joe. “He always parks illegally and I have to go tell him to move his car.” Then you have another RN who is a big fan of this doctor, “I was sick once, and he gave me a prescription for some antibiotics.” Even doctors weigh in on other doctors.  “He refuses to take call more than once a month and he rarely comes in the middle of the night to admit a patient.” 

I’ve come to the conclusion, identifying a “good” doctor is an impossible situation and recommending someone is not a service I intend to provide to anyone—friend or foe. What about you?