I have never been very good with change. Once I am comfortable with something, I don't want it to change. I enjoy being in a little rut here and there. I only like change if I want it to happen. For example, if I like a doctor, they are never allowed to leave or retire. If I don't like them, I will make the change myself. But I get concerned with too much change.
Right now I have a range of doctors. A couple of them are older and I like them so I have concerns that they could retire on me. I can tell how old they are roughly by looking them up on the hospital website and figuring out their age by looking at the year they finished medical school. (If medical school takes 3 years, that means they are about 25 and then I can do the math.)
I changed my primary care doctor a couple of years ago. I was fed up with her. She sent me for my annual mammogram, which was the bad one. I was very upset and left her a note at her office that I wanted to talk to her. I never heard from her. That was it. She was toast. I now have a new one but she is a bit young and her ego is present a bit too much.
So now I am contemplating changing again. I think I found a new potential doctor who has a sub-specialty in rheumatology. But then I wonder if I have a PCP with a sub-specialty rheumatology would I still need a rheumatologist as well? Or just the PCP? And I do like my rheumatologist. Crap. I'll have to figure that out.
And I just changed my therapist again. I liked my long term therapist and she retired (damn). So I got a new one who was a bit too young, talked about herself too much, and wasn't a match for me. I met the newer one yesterday. There is potential. She had some good advice for me. We'll see how that goes.
Changing doctors requires bringing them up to speed on me with the inevitable conversation about how many doctors I have and how many appointments there are lined up for me. And training them on all my ailments, medical history, and medication allergies.
How much change can I handle at one time? I waver on this one. My health isn't stellar and if I keep switching doctors I risk losing a sense of security. And the hospital just switched to a new computer system and I have had the sense the doctors are not doing as well with looking up my medical history before seeing me.
Maybe I'll wait a bit before changing my PCP and let everything else settle down. I also have an appointment scheduled with a new specialist next month. That's more change too.
2 comments:
After mets diagnosis I changed doctors and it was the BEST thing I ever did. I actually had time to do some research on a new doc, opposed to the old doc who I decided to see after a flurry of quick decisions and a random recommendation just after initial diagnosis and before surgery. I'm a fan of change...doors and windows, doors and windows. All the best to you!
Just FIY, medical school is 4 years, and most take a gap year to apply, so they're 27-28 when they graduate. If it says their residency place, that's an additional 3-6 years of training. Overall, your doctor has been in school/training for 7-10 years by the time they begin practicing.
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