Good news for patients of the future: ErasmusMC wants to make short work of blunt doctors. Anyone wishing to study medicine must take a ‘horkentest’. But what if you now have a blunt doctor? The tips below are from Plus Magazine from September 2007 – but they are still current.
“The best thing to do is say something straight away,” advises Jozien Bensing of the Nivel. “Tell me how uncomfortable you feel because of the way the doctor communicates with you. ‘You tell me quite a bit,’ for example. Another thing that might help is to say, “Hey, stop, do it again.” This way you interrupt the conversation and create a new start. Many doctors do not realize that they are blunt. Most will then apologize and pay more attention.”
And if you don’t dare? “Then bring it up immediately at the next appointment.” If that doesn’t help either, there’s only one thing to do: choose another doctor. “You are entitled to that,” says Jozien Bensing. “I did it myself once. I explained to the doctor why I no longer wanted to be treated by him, but by a colleague of his. I immediately explained to the new doctor what had happened. I built a great relationship with him. You can also ask for a different doctor when you call to make a new appointment. If this doesn’t work, file a complaint.”
What you shouldn’t do, says Bensing, is only vent at birthday parties. “Pull the bell at the hospital. A doctor is then called to account for his behavior by his colleagues or by management. A hospital simply does not want to lose patients.”
