4 ms·

The flip side of this is that doctors aren't infallible, and will often struggle with rare diseases that they don't deal with on a daily basis, or in some cases

The flip side of this is that doctors aren't infallible, and will often struggle with rare diseases that they don't deal with on a daily basis, or in some cases were never even taught about in medical school (such as recent discoveries). It's true that doctors have to deal with a constant flurry of "I did my own research and think this bruise I got yesterday might be liver cancer", but sometimes people with legitimately debilitating illneses slip through the cracks and have to aggressively advocate for themselves to get any real testing done, particularly if they have a very "let's wait a few months and see what happens" type doctor who never seems to make any progress on their own.

vasco 2y ago
> but sometimes people with legitimately debilitating illneses slip through the cracks and have to aggressively advocate for themselves to get any real testing done Sometimes they do, but by definition it's likely not you. It's important to think here that everyone thinks "they are the informed one" or that they are the one that "might have the rare one". Same reason why most people have bought a lottery ticket in their lives or why everyone is of above average intelligence. I like being active in my medical treatments by doing my own research but I censor a lot of what I say to a doctor, it's usually more to make sure I understand what's going on and that I can double check things.
- catlikesshrimp 2y ago
  It is too bad most people don't like all the dull gray truth in your comment. Everybody thinks they are the exception, for good and bad. On top of that, there are medical schools, not just one. A doctor might be following a [compulsory] guideline from his association / state / institution / college.
  - matheusmoreira 2y ago
    > A doctor might be following a [compulsory] guideline from his association / state / institution / college. I have no doubt they are, compulsory or not. When things go wrong, the first thing the judge asks is whether the doctor followed established medical practice, whatever that may be.

vasco 2y ago

> but sometimes people with legitimately debilitating illneses slip through the cracks and have to aggressively advocate for themselves to get any real testing done Sometimes they do, but by definition it's likely not you. It's important to think here that everyone thinks "they are the informed one" or that they are the one that "might have the rare one". Same reason why most people have bought a lottery ticket in their lives or why everyone is of above average intelligence. I like being active in my medical treatments by doing my own research but I censor a lot of what I say to a doctor, it's usually more to make sure I understand what's going on and that I can double check things.

catlikesshrimp 2y ago
It is too bad most people don't like all the dull gray truth in your comment. Everybody thinks they are the exception, for good and bad. On top of that, there are medical schools, not just one. A doctor might be following a [compulsory] guideline from his association / state / institution / college.
- matheusmoreira 2y ago
  > A doctor might be following a [compulsory] guideline from his association / state / institution / college. I have no doubt they are, compulsory or not. When things go wrong, the first thing the judge asks is whether the doctor followed established medical practice, whatever that may be.