Difficult times
Last night I stopped at the supermarket on my way home to pick up a few things for dinner. And, inevitably, I got in line behind someone who insisted that the grapes she'd purchased should be $1.49 per pound, not $1.99 as it rang up on the register. I don't even think she'd gotten a whole pound, so the price difference really didn't make a huge impact on her overall bill. But we all stood there behind her, waiting for the price check, and thinking, I'm sure, how "difficult" she was being. After a few minutes, the clerk returned and confirmed that the customer was correct after all. And I have to say, despite being slightly annoyed by the delay, another part of me was glad that her persistence had paid off. No one should be cheated out of their hard earned money. Or their hard-earned health. Which is why, sometimes, being "difficult" is just as important in your doctor's office as it is in the supermarket line. A recent article I read offers the perfect example. It told the story of Michelle Mayer, who spent years trying to get various physicians and specialists to listen to her, take her seriously, and offer her an accurate diagnosis for the nearly crippling symptoms she had been experiencing. But what these physicians didn't know was that they'd messed with the wrong person: Mayer is a research assistant professor of health policy and management at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She knew better than most that doctors are quick to dismiss unexplained symptoms as stress, and she refused to be brushed off so easily, insisting on second, third, and fourth opinions and traveling hundreds of miles until, finally, she found supportive physicians who were willing to work with her in the diagnostic and treatment process. As Mayer said, "I expected my doctors to respect my right to make truly informed choices that were consistent with the way in which I wanted to intervene in my disease and live my life." Unfortunately, that sort of outlook usually earns people the "difficult patient" label. Mayer says that her "assertiveness has been greeted variably with contempt, resignation, and, at times, support." She admits that she had her moments of wanting to give up the fight, but she knew that if she wanted to have any hope of a happy, healthy future, she had to take matters into her own hands and advocate for herself, rather than accepting diagnoses and treatment protocols that she knew weren't the right fit. It's a shame that our medical system operates in such a way that, more often than not, you've got to become "difficult" in order to have your needs met. Like Mayer, you may have to do some searching until you find a doctor that is willing to truly work with you, but, in the end, your health is worth standing up for. Source:
"Survival instincts propel 'difficult patient' to insist on quality care," ScienceDaily (www.sciencedaily.com), 9/12/08 |
