We expect doctors to maintain professionalism and conduct themselves in an upstanding manner. So, it can be rather infuriating to hear about some of them acting inappropriately with their patients.
Here are some of those stories shared by people in a recent Reddit thread. While a small handful of them are laughable enough despite crossing the line, most of these posts are so egregious that you may even question their authenticity.
But whether they are real or not, these accounts aren’t that far-fetched. Scroll through and feel free to share similar experiences you may have had.
#61
Trying to get a referral for some psych help (turns out I have what used to be called chronic clinical depression), as is the process in australia. Going through the checklist questions we have this exchange:
Doc: Do you have anxiety?
Me: Honestly, I don't actually know what that is. I know the word but I don't how how it feels.
Doc: If you don't know what it is then you don't have it.
Me: I don't know what cancer actually is, does that mean I'll never have it?
Ended up have a big of a yelling match about it and how stupid this jerk was, I got my referral and stormed out without paying.
Doc: Do you have anxiety?
Me: Honestly, I don't actually know what that is. I know the word but I don't how how it feels.
Doc: If you don't know what it is then you don't have it.
Me: I don't know what cancer actually is, does that mean I'll never have it?
Ended up have a big of a yelling match about it and how stupid this jerk was, I got my referral and stormed out without paying.
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9points
#62
A GP said he would help me lose weight during a visit for my outpatient Eating Disorder treatment.
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9points
#63
Maternal fetal med doc I was meeting for the first time said we would figure out why I was having such small babies so I could have a healthier baby with my next pregnancy. I’m 5ft, 110lbs and was struggling to gain weight while pregnant with identical twins. She missed a diagnosis of preeclampsia (I was symptomatic and told her what was going on) which DID cause complications with my emergent c section two weeks later.
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8points
#64
Not a doctor but a nurse: I’m anorexic and was very underweight in hospital one night and was having intense chest pains to the left right where the heart is. The docs were worried so they did an ECG and one of the pads has to go beneath a specific rib and the nurse said “at least we can count your ribs easily!”
I’m sure she meant no harm but darn looking back it’s probably not the most appropriate thing to say.
I’m sure she meant no harm but darn looking back it’s probably not the most appropriate thing to say.
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8points
#65
Went to the ER once because I was having really painful neurological issues. When I started to cry because I was in so much pain, the doctor said, "we don't treat depression here."
Yeah... turns out I was withdrawing from benzos. My primary doc hadn't warned me of any withdrawal symptoms.
Yeah... turns out I was withdrawing from benzos. My primary doc hadn't warned me of any withdrawal symptoms.
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8points
#66
I came in asking about night terrors I’d been having, she instantly started assuming things about my life and wanted to put me on antidepressants. She knew me for maybe 5 minutes.
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7points
#67
“You have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome?! Can you show me one of your party tricks?”.
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7points
#69
It was my pediatrician and I was 11 years old and pretty chubby. She said I needed to start getting tested for “fat people diseases, like diabetes”. It blew my mind, even as a kid.
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6points