Don’t feel shy, keep asking your Doc these questions (2)

What you need to know:

  • Last Monday, when a piece was published here on the same subject, Dan from Masaki, Dar es Salaam wrote to me, recalling the day he walked into a doctor’s office and felt as though he was on a hot seat.

This week, I am still on the topic that you and I started off from the previous edition—asking questions. I love this topic, why?

Last Monday, when a piece was published here on the same subject, Dan from Masaki, Dar es Salaam wrote to me, recalling the day he walked into a doctor’s office and felt as though he was on a hot seat.

“I have always assumed it’s the doctor who has to ask me questions and it’s my job to answer them. Thanks for opening up my mind. I didn’t know I had the role to play at this point,’’ he wrote.

Indeed, as we go along seeking healthcare, it’s our health that matters. Your Health is your life. So, when you ask key questions, it’s for your advantage.

Apart from last week’s questions, here is another you could still ask the Doc: “Where would you send your wife or children if they got sick?”

You see, medical doctors are supposed to treat everyone equally, but it’s clear that some people receive better treatment than others.

One thing to note is that doctors who work within a particular system routinely refer patients to specialists within that health-care system.

But, the best doctor or rather surgeon could be somewhere on the other side of town—in another facility. You can bet, that’s where your doctor would send his family for treatment. So, always endeavor to ask.

Yet, it’s not also bad to try and find out about your doctor’s experience. For instance, you can ask him/her: How many surgeries do you perform each per year?”

You could get interesting answers from your doc, and that would teach you many things. There are doctors who may have treated your condition or carried out a procedure 200 times. I mean that same procedure you might have undergone. How does it feel if you get to hear this? You tell me.

Please, don’t feel offended if the doctor turns to you, trying to ask what has been going on in your life.

Visiting the doctor at the hospital/ clinic is not supposed to be a simple discussion about symptoms. Your doctor should know some details about your life. So, he will ask what it’s like: where you live, what you do, if you’re single, how you spend your time, if you smoke or drink, if there were any major, recent changes in your life or lifestyle.

How does that feel, if he/she asks you that? Much as it may feel uncomfortable to reveal at some point, it is still important because it will also provide your doctor with a fuller picture of who you are, so he or she knows what to ask in the future and how to treat you effectively.

Always strive to be healthy by making informed choices!