Doctors Reveal What It's Like To Be Treated By Another Medical Professional

No Pats! 

Yes, we see doctors. Not awkward at all. We make crappy know-it-all patients, though. Most of the time, I only go if I need something I can't take care of myself. I've had to get iv fluids several times for dehydration in the last few years. I can't do my own Pap smear. I choose not to write for any chronic meds for myself or my husband. DrScogs

Really Dad?

My dad is a doctor and is the worst patient. He always says "What, are they going to tell me something I don't already know?" But he's not a fricking heart specialist, so yeah I'd like to him see someone who actually had their training in that field. gambitgrl

Doing the rote!

We usually have doctor friends (med school, colleagues etc), and just prescribe for ourselves with someone else writing the script, diagnose ourselves, unless there is something you really need another opinion on. bobthelobs

Fun times....

I enjoy checking myself for prostate cancer but it's also nice to shake things up and have someone else do it from time to time. robojaybird

I'd rather anything else! 

My cousin is a urologist. He's has so little trust he gave himself his own vasectomy. Said he nearly passed out but got the job done. No. I haven't seen the scar. leaky_eddie

I cant even say Vasectomy without cringing, I'd rather just use condoms and take chances the rest of my life then get one and I'd rather shoot myself in the foot with a 12 gauge then give myself one lol. nja1998

Find the best! 

I worked with a lot of doctors (used to be a nurse). I don't think it was awkward for them because most of the time they would be going to a specialist that wasn't in their field. You might be a competent general mechanic, but if you have a Subaru and this other person does nothing but Subarus all day long or it's an automatic transmission and this other person does nothing but automatic transmissions all day every day, you'd probably rather take your car to them for anything more than an oil change. CetteChanson

Trauma! 

My wife is a trauma surgeon and says it's more like an elementary school teacher going back to college for their masters or doctorate and having to be the student instead of the teacher. It isn't that weird.

In my experience with teachers it's also common for them to view their child's teacher much differently than non teachers. They often hold them to a higher standard because they do the same job. My wife has said that sending our then infant son to have open heart surgery was the hardest thing she has ever had to do. He fully recovered and other than seeing the scar you would never be able to tell, but my wife still doesn't like to talk about it. With that said, injuries don't freak her out at all. She'll usually calmly ask how painful it is on a scale from 1 to 10 and will check it out to see if she can treat it at home. I think doctors tend to avoid going to the doctors if possible. Mannings4head

You don't know better! 

I worked as a scribe in a cardiology clinic before medical school, and a few times I saw doctors (of a different specialty) come in for various things. The first time I was so excited, I always wondered what it would be like to watch a doctor be a patient at another doctor's office. But it was the most anticlimactic thing ever. The specialist made it quick, "this is probably what's going on, let's run these following tests and/or start on this medication." The patient doctor would normally say ok and maybe ask to look at their own echocardiogram.

I'll tell you who the worst patients were though were retired PhDs (of something even remotely related to medicine). They always acted like they knew better, ESPECIALLY if they were being seen by a midlevel. mctaylor241

Call it In! 

They all just ask a colleague to "call it in" if they think they need something. When they really need a provider, like say an emergency room situation or something like that, they tend not to mention their work till after the important parts because they want the doctor to just do their thing. B0NERSTORM

I Got It! 

For minor things (mainly antibiotics or eye drops), I'll just prescribe myself whatever I need but obviously never with scheduled drugs. I once sprained my ankle. At work I called an ER doc I knew in the hospital, asked for a script and had the techs x-ray my ankle. I don't have a primary care doctor and haven't been to 'the doctor' in about a decade. Granted, I'm still pretty young and don't have any medical problems. If I did have a real problem, I would know exactly which doctors were the best in their field. It's incredibly convenient. I imagine it must be like a car mechanic having a car issue. fleeyevegans