If there’s one place we expect to feel safe in this confusing world, it’s definitely the doctor’s office. We step foot through the door with concerns and thoughts ruminating in our heads for days, hoping to find some comfort in their words. But as it turns out, that’s not always what we get.
You see, while becoming a doctor takes enormous amounts of grueling hard work, talent, and knowledge, not everyone in the field has a sympathetic bedside manner. One Redditor who goes by the handle MCKlassik decided to find out about off-putting experiences people lived through at their most vulnerable. They reached out to members of the Ask Reddit community and raised the question: “What’s the most unprofessional thing a doctor has ever said to you?”
Thousands of people came forward to share their blood-boiling stories that might rev up your heart rate. We at Bored Panda have collected the most illuminating replies that prove some medical professionals are completely out of touch and aloof when interacting with their patients. So continue scrolling and let us know what you think about them in the comments.
#1
Wasn’t a doctor but a nurse. While taking my history she asked if I was on any medication. I told her birth control & an anti-depressant. She looked at me and said “You’re so young, what do you have to be depressed about?” I thought about it and realized I had nothing to be depressed about and was cured! Thanks random nurse! /s
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377points
#2
"You weren't sexually abused, that doesn't happen to boys."
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357points
#3
"A little back pain is normal. You should learn to live with it." Later: "It's probably mental", and when I tried to kill myself: "You're psychotic". Four decades and numerous passed mental examinations later i was finally diagnosed.
I had a slipped disk.
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334points
We managed to get in touch with the creator of this thread, Redditor MCKlassik, who was kind enough to have a little chat with us. The user revealed they got the idea to post this question and start a discussion on Ask Reddit after their friends started sharing their own unfortunate experiences with medical professionals. “[I] wanted to see if other people have similar stories,” they told Bored Panda.
However, the user did not expect the thread to blow up as much as it did. As of today, the user’s post has amassed nearly 30K upvotes with more than 19K commenters opening up about the inappropriate doctors they ever had the “pleasure” to deal with.
“In terms of going viral, Ask Reddit is hit or miss because so many people post questions every day in hopes of making it to the top. I understand where they’re coming from because Ask Reddit is one of the biggest subreddits on the platform. So I was quite surprised that my post just happened to stand out enough for people to give their stories and to respond to others,” MCKlassik said.
#4
Went in for a lung infection. Was told that my asthma was caused by my breasts being “too big” and they were crushing my lungs and that’s the cause of asthma in women.
…. I asked what online university he got his MD from and if he could get a refund and left to go to a different clinic.
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315points
#5
I was in the ER in the last few years, and the subject of my weight came up. I've struggled with my weight my entire life.
ER doctor: "Have you tried pushaways?"
Me: "What are those?"
ER doctor: "When you push away from the table. HAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA."
He thought it was the most hilarious thing any person has ever said. I can assure you it was not.
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304points
#6
A nurse, after I requested a Benadryl for intense itching after a c-section: "I can't give you anything for random itching. You are breastfeeding and it will cause drowsiness for you and baby. You'll have to suck it up." She handed me my son from his crib-thing and told me skin-on-skin was best. I was burning up and my son, while content, wasn't latching or otherwise interested in eating. She put the crib just far enough that I couldn't move over enough to put him back. Every part of my skin burned like stinging nettles.
45 minutes later I was covered in hives, crying from hormones, itching and my pain levels and thought I was having an allergic reaction to something. My son was falling asleep on me while i was itching until my arms bled. I rang my bell. A different nurse came in and says "Oh good Lord, you are having a reaction to something! Poor thing, you look uncomfortable, let's get you sorted out!"
I asked her about breastfeeding and she's like "Baby won't starve and you won't be feeling much like feeding if you're scratching your breasts off, now will ya?"
I asked her about breastfeeding and she's like "Baby won't starve and you won't be feeling much like feeding if you're scratching your breasts off, now will ya?"
She gave me Benadryl in my IV, and a bit of extra pain medication. I guess I had some weirdo immune response, not an actual reaction to anything like medication or whatnot. She took my son and dressed him all up in a couple outfits I brought (he was born on Hallowe'en) and kept him up at the nurses station for about 90 minutes while I slept. When my husband came up later (he was taking my older son to my brother's after grabbing him from daycare) the nurses were all taking turns holding my 8 hour-old son and I slept a solid 3 hours. I felt like a million bucks.
Didn't see Benadryl-Denying Betsy again. B***h.
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296points
This thread serves as proof that some doctors can seriously cross the line, whether intentionally or not, with what they tell their patients. However, it’s important to remember that many people in the medical field are amazing at their jobs and deserve countless awards for taking care of someone else’s life. It’s reassuring to know that many doctors take extra steps to make sure our physical health and our state of being would be in a good place. MCKlassik believes that when doctors are unprofessional, they don’t do it intentionally. “Sometimes the phrase or action just slips out,” they said.
“Quite frankly, I’m not surprised that doctors can be unprofessional because doctors are human, meaning they’re not perfect,” the user added. “Sometimes a doctor’s negative emotions and comments are brought into their workday due to potential personal issues and let it impact their performance.”
#7
“I MUST examine you internally. Don’t be a wuss” (This GP was 6”6 and built like Goliath)
At my 6 week post partum check up after a 4th degree tear. And a letter from the surgeon saying “do not examine the patient”
I was 20 and ‘let” him, crying the whole time.
Bastard.
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286points
#8
“Nope, I can’t feel any lump”
I was convinced I felt a lump in my testicles. The doctor couldn’t feel it. Ended up taking way longer than acceptable to get an ultra sound (roughly 6 weeks).
And yes, it turned out to be cancer.
I’m all good now but that was BS.
Edit -due to the attention this is getting I added some info about testicular cancer below:
Testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer for men aged 20-35. It’s also **the most treatable form of cancer** nowadays so don’t panic if you feel a lump.
The lump itself felt like a small bb inside my testicle. Hardly noticeable. The consistency was hard and it didn’t give at all when pressed. Usually there is no pain accompanied with the tumor. I could feel it when holding my ball between my thumb and forefinger.
I should also add I had to insist that I felt something when visiting the doctor and if I hadn’t I don’t think I’d have gotten an ultrasound. If you feel something isn’t normal trust yourself.
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280points
#9
I was looking for a surgeon for my gallstone operation and he asked what meds I was on. I mentioned my antidepressants and he started saying I didn't need to take them I just needed to pray. I was pissed and replied "I guess I'll just pray my gallstones away too then". Needless to say, I went with a different surgeon.
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277points
But when patients hear highly inappropriate and extremely ignorant comments from professionals who take care of one of the most important things in their life — their health — it can easily make them feel distraught. Without trust, you have nothing, as they say. So no wonder many people turn to other doctors after living through these uncomfortable experiences, hoping to get better treatment.
We want our physicians to be personal, caring, and understanding. We wish to receive sympathetic smiles and authentic human connection. But it turns out that empathy has been significantly lacking in medicine recently. Over the past few decades, many doctors have developed a reputation for being cold.
#10
“It’s your fault, know better next time.” This was in response to learning I was raped while drunk. She said I shouldn’t drink around friends I don’t know for positive I can trust too. Also, “You should’ve protected your virginity better. I’ve only slept with one man.”
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256points
#11
It wasn't what was said, but I did have an appointment where the doctor just never showed up. I was in the examination room for about 45 minutes when an MA walked in and asked me what I was doing there. When I said I was waiting for the doctor, "the doctor already left! We're closing". Instead of calling the doctor back they made me schedule another appointment. I found a new office instead.
249points
#12
“Your child will never learn to read”. Said by “the best developmental doctor” at a very well known hospital about my then four year old son with Down Syndrome. This was in 2001:not 1901. After a very one sided conversation on my part that channeled Cher from the movie Mask, the doctor left the room and I was then escorted out by security. Parents believe these “professionals” and don’t expect much from their kids as a result. William is 24, reading on a 5-6 th grade level (we had a goal of 4th grade as that’s what a newspaper is geared to) and lives in his own.
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239points
More and more patients are coming into contact with medical professionals who treat them more like objects rather than humans. Chris Lovejoy, a physician-in-training at St. George’s Hospital in London, told Quartz that one of the reasons behind it could be that they simply don’t have time to show empathy at work. “Quite easily in medicine, time pressure becomes just another excuse to avoid difficult conversations,” he said.
But while we can sometimes justify their impersonal treatment as an obvious symptom of receiving better expertise and correct diagnosis, compassion is essential in medicine. “Empathy is, and always has been, a core part of medical practice,” Lovejoy added. “I remember a psychiatrist at medical school who would always say ‘the first thing you prescribe to a patient is yourself.‘” We can just hope that we will see more prescriptions of good bedside manner and basic human decency to avoid breaking patients’ trust in the future.
#13
This wasn’t a doctor, but a couple of years ago I had to get blood drawn at a lab. When they called me in, I sat down in the chair, and laid my arm out on the table so they could draw the blood.. At that point, some old self harm scars on my arm were still pretty visible (and it’s something I’m very self-conscious about). The phlebotomist gasps when she sees it, says “How ugly! What could have ever made you do that to yourself?” and stood there waiting expecting an answer. Her tone was not of genuine concern, but was sort of disgust. I told her it’s private and asked if we could just start the blood draw, and I had to repeat that multiple times before she actually started. While she was doing it, she continued on telling me that I’m “too young to be depressed” and that the scars were “such a horrible thing to do” to myself. I couldn’t get up and run out the door because there was a needle in my arm. My face was so red, tears were in my eyes, and became so embarrassed and upset that I couldn’t say anything. I just waited for it to be done, and ran out the door.
I found an online feedback form for the company and left a complaint there, and left a voicemail on their customer service phone line. I got no response, but I just hope someone spoke with that person about it. And that no one with self-harm scars is made to feel as embarrassed and ashamed as I was.
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226points
#14
I had developed DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) as a result of being bad at having type 1 combined with a severe stomach bug. I hadn’t eaten in days and was having horrible diarrhea. When I was getting treated in the ICU, I had an accident and s**t the bed- I wasn’t allowed to get up on my own and no one was answering the nurse call button (I don’t blame anyone for that- people are actually dying in the ICU and I just needed frequent monitoring for an insulin drip). The CNA had a new person shadowing her and when I got up, the newbie audibly gagged and acted super grossed out, swearing under her breath while changing the sheets. I get it, poop is gross, but I was already super embarrassed and ashamed. The main CNA told her to leave and apologized to me for her reaction. I just asked that she not come back, which they respected.
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224points
#15
i went to the doctors' to get my breasts checked (he basically just held and caressed them in a manner he wouldn't have had a chance to feel anything potentially dangerous) and due to them causing me a lot of physical pain i asked him about my options regarding breast reduction surgery. he got visibly angry and told me to never even think about it, and called them "beautiful and tender". he was well in his 50s and i was 18-19. i paid like 50 dollars for master roshi to ignore my health issues and make me find another doctor who actually wanted to help people
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224points
#16
I was 17 and had found a lump in my breast. I was terrified.
My mother took me to her gynecologist because she didn't trust mine, who she'd never met. The doctorexamined me and told me I had something called Fibrocystic Disease. He said hormones make it worse. Since I was on oral birth control, I asked him if I should stop taking the pill.
He said I shouldn't be on the pill in the first place and walked out of the room without saying anything else. No explanation of what Firbrocystic Disease was, no further instructions for care.
I waited about 20 minutes for someone to come back and then I just got dressed, including putting on my winter coat and waited. Fifteen minutes later a nurse comes in, looks at me and says "You can get dressed now."
I said, "I AM dressed."
She looked at me again and turned around and walked out without a word.
I left and never went back. I ended up looking up Fibrocystic Disease at my college library, but really couldn't tell how bad it was or what I should do.
Ended up going to a different gynecologist. I didn't have Fibrcystic Disease, I had fibrous breast tissue. I ended up having that lump removed because it caused so much pain. Haven't had any lumps since or any pain.
That first doctor can go f**k himself.
Oh yeah, and my mother, who is the one who put me on birth control, said the doctor was right, I shouldn't be on it. Nothing like feeling cared for and supported by your parents and doctor.
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221points
#17
When I was in junior high, I went out for the basketball team. I had to take a physical and it had to be done by the school's doctor and not my own. I went in to do the physical and had to get naked. I did so and the doctor looked me over. He saw that I have an inverted breast bone and said "Wow. That is freakish. You can't be on the team with that." I know that my breast bone makes it look like I have a whole in my chest, but I had never been self-conscious about until that moment. Because this examination was taking place in the boys' locker room in front of other kids wanting to go out for the team too, everyone started laughing at me and calling me names. I grabbed my s**t and left. My mother took me to our regular doctor who reassured me that there was nothing wrong with me and that there are plenty of people who have breast bones just like mine. It didn't help but I appreciated that she explained it to me. I stopped taking off my shirt in front of others. I was harassed and bullied by my entire classic for years to come because a doctor made an comment that he shouldn't have made.
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218points
#18
Unprofessional, but funny.
I had taken my 92 year old mother to a recheck appointment to her PCP.
I had taken my 92 year old mother to a recheck appointment to her PCP.
An apparently new medical assistant was dutifully getting her history by reading off a checklist. When she asked when Mom's last period was, I looked at Mom a little nervously: she was VERY old school, very dignified and would typically never acknowledge to her sons that she had female parts.
I saw a rare twinkle in Mom's eyes as she calmly replied, "well, I can't give you an exact number of months, but I'm pretty sure it was sometime in the late 1960s."
The assistant had the good grace to laugh with us, apologize, then read the next question.
The assistant had the good grace to laugh with us, apologize, then read the next question.
"do you think you might be pregnant?"
Edit: changed PPP to PCP.
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205points
#19
When I was 21 I dislocated my shoulder and it continued to hurt for weeks. Went to a specialist, he suggested the pain was all in my head! After an MRI he realized I had a SLAP tear in my shoulder, so I said, looks like it's not all in my head, and he looked at me with such contempt, I never went back to that a*****e.
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195points
#20
I had a 20+ day period two months after a miscarriage. It wasn’t slowing down. I went to a dr at 9 days. He told me I wasn’t having a miscarriage. He was also standing in the hallway next to the waiting room and yelled it it it the room I was in before walking away.
I went to another dr on day 18. He told me to calm down and it will stop. I was calm.
Went to another dr on day 20. He gave me medication to clot my blood. It stopped on day 22.
A month later I had excruciating pain in my left ovary. So much pain I’d puke and pain killers didn’t touch it. I went to the hospital 12 hours after the pain started. The dr there didn’t run any tests or even touch me or ask me any questions. Then he went on a rant about how women are hysterical and run to the emergency room for anything. Like soaking a pad in an hour or passing huge blood clots. Which are things we are told to do by drs.
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191points