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DOCTOR AS PATIENT
TEN TOP TIPS Professor Olaf Aasland, Norwegian Medical Association suggests the following:
TEN TOP TIPS FOR BEING A PATIENT (AS A DOCTOR) - Ask for help in time - don't wait too long.
- Consult another doctor than yourself - AVOID self-medicating.
- Ask the doctor to treat you as an ordinary patient. (Avoid the trap of clinging to the medical persona.)
- Be sure that this is a normal consultation, with proper records kept etc.
- Ask the doctor for all the information and advice that s/he usually give patients with the same illness.
- No shortcuts. No 'corridor consultations'. If you are hospitalized, ask that ordinary routines and examinations be followed.
- Do your best to follow the doctor's advice about sick-leave, diet, medication etc. if you get little or no advice, be courageous and ask for it!
- Inform your family and friends about your condition. (They will probably feel that something is wrong.)
- Inform your colleagues too, even if you are not on sick-leave. (Help to destroy the myth that doctors cannot be unwell.)
- Ask yourself why you became unwell. Is there something in your lifestyle that should/can be changed?
TEN TOP TIPS FOR DOCTORS WHO HAVE COLLEAGUES AS PATIENTS - The sick doctor is first and foremost a patient under your care. Treat the doctor-patient just like that.
- Ensure open communication both ways between you and your doctor-patient, but remember that he or she can be quite reduced by illness.
- Listen to the doctor-patient, but say clearly what you think is the best treatment etc.
- Do not leave it to the doctor-patient to make arrangements for examinations, tests etc.
- As with any patient, write a case record, write prescriptions and make an appointment for a return visit.
- Do not hesitate to urge hospitalisation if you find it necessary. Follow your usual routine.
- If the doctor-patient wants to be anonymous (not known as a doctor) respect this wish.
- Give thorough information, not less than you usually give to your patients. Do not hesitate to repeat the information.
- If you are a hospital doctor then you are the one to make decisions as to when the doctor-patient should be discharged from the hospital, and when the sick leave should end.
- Remember: the doctor-patient is a person who is ill. No matter what his position may be in the medical hierarchy, you are the doctor in charge.
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